#I had completely forgotten about that top post but that is fun to see

[white-cat-of-doom]

I posted 2,327 times in 2022

827 posts created (36%)

1,500 posts reblogged (64%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@the-cat-at-the-theatre-door

@munku-collar

@white-cat-of-doom

@sillybub

@cassandra-has-moonlit-eyes

I tagged 2,321 of my posts in 2022

#cats the musical - 2,288 posts

#cats musical - 2,287 posts

#cats us tour 6 - 356 posts

#jellylorum - 262 posts

#victoria - 260 posts

#demeter - 253 posts

#bombalurina - 247 posts

#cats rccl cast 12 - 244 posts

#cats uk tour 2022 - 232 posts

#cats international tour 2022 - 230 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#part of me wants to change my avatar to one of these pieces but i cannot bring myself to take away the 2019 rumple i have had for two years

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Today is the day! The Il Sistina production of CATS opens tonight (07 December 2022) in Rome!

Below are some more specific character photos, outside of larger group photos.

Jacopo Pelliccia as Gatto Giò (Bustopher Jones, a separate character in this production).

Photos taken by Gianluca Sarago.

Gaia Soprano as Cassandra.

See the full post

133 notes - Posted December 7, 2022

#4

Everyone generally knows what the Rumpus Cat looks like in traditional productions, right? A bit silly, with funky hair and red eyes.

Meanwhile in Japan, the modern Rumpus Cat looks like this:

The hero we never knew we needed.

(Fukuoka 2021, January 2022; Kenshin Mori as Rumpus Cat, Miki Okudaira as Jellylorum, Eiko Kataoka as Rumpleteazer, Yuki Takahashi as Old Deuteronomy, Taijun Kanemoto as Munkustrap, and Yurie Sato as Bombalurina. Almost fully hidden is Haruaki Tamai as Mungojerrie.)

141 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

#3

Rehearsals have started for the production of CATS at Teatro Sistina in Italy, starting 07 December 2022, an officially licensed non-replica from RUG.

The designs are interesting in that they have reference sheets for both the makeup and costume.

See the full post

149 notes - Posted November 9, 2022

#2

The promotional pictures for the UK/International Tour 2022 have been posted!

See the full post

181 notes - Posted May 31, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I never uploaded these pictures last year, so I figured now would be a fun time to celebrate Pride Month again. Who better than with my favourite cast of Cats in Vienna?

See the full post

192 notes - Posted June 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[crow-stars]

❝LITTLE BITS OF GOLD❞

❦summary; how can something so small and practically worthless make him want to protect it with all his heart. how unfair... ♪the characters in this story; gn!reader, azul ashengrotto, jade leech, floyd leech ✎word count; 2,151 ❀what do the ghosts say?; ambiguous, azul and reader are childhood friends, reader is a jellyfish, going to a carnival/fair with the tweels, azul calls reader dumb but not in a bad way ☛the author's notes; went to an event today, so posting this at who knows what am. also i suck ass at darts ☪look at the catalogue?

Azul doesn’t understand you. In all honesty, ever since the two of you were kids, he didn’t understand you that much. 

You were a pretty merfolk, skin that glowed a soft gold and purple in the dark of the sea, that see through domed hood framing your head in a beautiful manner that Azul still finds pretty even as he’s grown up. Jade and Floyd always liked dragging you around during the night as their own personal flashlight. And, of course, Azul was taken along for the ride, sticking close to you during those stupid night trips. You were always around the three, idly drifting along and going along with whatever adventure or antic the tweels decided to do for the day. 

You always liked Azul though, for whatever reason. In his eyes, you were like a barnacle stuck to his side, following after him for whatever he was doing or silently watching from the side. In all honesty, Azul was sure you were more of an airhead than anything else, not that was a bad thing, always talking about the future and things that Azul knows are a far distance in the future. Despite that, he still listened, sometimes even daring to daydream alongside you on the rare days where he let himself relax. 

A few years before Azul had been accepted into Night Raven College, you had to move away, or do a “migration”, as your parents had told you. You slowly slipped from Azul’s thoughts as studying magic and his enrollment in Night Raven College took priority. He had almost completely forgotten about  you (though not really), until the beginning of his sophomore year, having attained the role of housewarden and having built his reputation, Azul was ready to escort the new batch of freshmen into when someone called out to him with a familiar nickname. 

“Azu! Azu!” Before Azul could even register it, two arms wrapped around his abdomen and a cheery smile greeted him. There was only one person who would ever call him that and it was you. 

Azul’s cool facade was broken as embarrassment struck across his features, cheeks burning a pink hue as he looked at you. You were smiling so brightly at him, giggling in glee and bouncing on your heels. Your eyes had an undertone of gold to them, little gold and purple specks akin to freckles across your cheeks that remind Azul of your underwater form. Azul didn’t know whether to scold you or push you away, but it wasn’t the time for pleasantries. 

That was how his reunion went with you and it brings him back to the present, with you and Floyd stacking plates in a precarious manner. Another game that Floyd’s most likely pulled you into. Ever since you arrived at NRC, Floyd was doing the same thing he did when they were kids, dragging you along after him on whatever whim he pleased and you would always happily follow along, drifting and following whatever came to you. 

“Could you two stop that?” Azul grumbled as he raised his head from his work, eyes narrowing at you and Floyd. 

“Ah, sorry Azu.” Your eyes looked over to Azul, hands folding in your lap and tilting your head, giving Azul that blank look that he identified you with. Floyd, meanwhile, pouted his lips in protest and groaned, rolling his eyes. 

“Hmmm... Azul’s no fun. Hey, Jelly, here.” Floyd places the plate that was in his hands on your head, balancing it on top of you while you sit still. Your eyes glanced up at the plate before a soft laugh slipped past your lips, the little gold freckles on your cheeks pulsing a gentle glow that it seemed to do whenever you laughed or giggled. Floyd clapped and Jade, who just passed by, stopped to watch his brother as Floyd began to grab the plates from the stack to transfer onto your head. 

Azul heaves a heavy sigh and shakes his head. He lets his pen drop from his hands, knowing he’s not getting much work done when Floyd was doing things such as this. Especially when it was a somewhat interesting spectacle. Azul rubs his temple, watching as Floyd stacks plate after plate atop your head while you happily sit there. 

“Oh! Azu, Azu!”

“Hm? What is it?” 

Azul's eyes look over at you with a light smile, Floyd still stacking plates on your head. You were smiling that smile that only you could smile, swaying a bit from side to side and making the plates teeter precariously. It made Azul anxious to watch and he lightly stopped your swaying with a gentle hand. 

You didn't pay much mind to Azul's hand and only continued on with what you were saying. “I read about this thing that land people do sometimes called a carnival.” Floyd stopped stacking plates on your head and looked down at you, a curious look in his eyes. Jade had stopped behind the booth where the other three were, eyebrow quirked in curiosity along with his twin. 

“Do you think we can go to one please? My classmates say that there’s one this weekend!”

Before Azul could get his opinion in, Floyd was already agreeing with you, babbling and clamoring next to you, throwing his arms around you while cheering that it was an awesome idea. 

That was how Azul’s weekend got taken up with going to the carnival. And also how he had to replace at least 10 plates after they came crashing down when Floyd hugged you. 

Azul could see that you and Floyd were looking around with childish glee, the only thing keeping you two around being Azul’s plea to stay within eye line of him and Jade. The sun was only just barely beginning to set, streaking golden lines over the sky and mixing blue with oranges and yellows. 

The carnival wasn’t all that bad, typical in look to what one would expect. There were game and food booths, varying enticing smells that made Azul’s mouth water and prizes that had you pointing them out everytime you passed by. 

“Look, look! It’s an octopus! Can we go get it, please?” 

The octopus plush was relatively small, big black eyes and little details under the tentacles for the suction cups. It was definitely cute at least, though Floyd was also grinning at Azul as he pointed at it. 

“Azul, it looks just like you! We should get it, hehe!” Azul rolled his eyes with a sigh, shaking his head. He pinched the bridge of his nose, glasses shifting up a bit. 

“Floyd, please...” 

“You know Floyd... You could try winning it.” Jade’s smile turned into a grin, sharp teeth on display as he looked at the booth with a smile. “I think it’ll be an interesting addition to the Mostro Lounge, don’t you think?” 

Azul groaned as Floyd rushed to the booth to play, eagerly giving the carney enough thaumarks for a turn to play. It was some game where you would have to knock down some milk glasses. The carny stood by the side as they gave Floyd some balls to throw at the stacked glasses. Azul sighed as his eyes roamed away from the tweels to see what you were up to. 

You, however, were not in the spot where you should have been. This made a bolt of anxiety shoot through Azul as his eyes swept across the crowds and booths. He knew he should have invested in one of those weird child leashes that he once saw. It wasn’t much different when he and the tweels would wrap seaweed around your waist to keep you from wandering too far from them. 

With a groan, Azul informed Jade of what he was doing and went into the crowd, weaving through people as his eyes darted from booth to booth, trying to find you among the masses. 

Azul’s eyes catch that purple and gold glow nearby a balloon darts booth, staring up at one of the prizes. The sight of you safe and sound helped alleviate Azul’s anxiety, though it didn’t stop the irritation of you suddenly up and disappearing. 

“What have we told you about wandering off? You know how dangerous it could be after the incident with the current and─” 

“Azu.” Your hand points to one of the carnival prizes, stars in your eyes. You were captivated by a set of match heart charm necklaces, colored gold that looked cheap. The strings of the necklace were only black strings even, one bad stress from fraying and falling apart. “I want them.”  

Azul gave you a scrutinizing look, eyebrows furrowed a bit. “Those are the most flimsy looking things ever.”

“But they say best friends on them! We have to get them!” Another look at them and the necklaces did, indeed, say best friends in small letters that were harder to read from where Azul was standing. 

Another look at you made Azul sigh, grabbing your wrist and walking over to the booth. He took out the required amount of thaumarks, placing it down on the counter. “Five darts please.”

You made a little cheer as the carny provided the darts to Azul, watching him pick up one of the darts and prepare to throw it. It would be easy, surely, it’s just aiming darts and popping balloons. 

His first dart falls short and falls to the floor. The second dart manages to hit a balloon, but not pop it. The third hits a balloon, thankfully. The fourth one hits, but doesn’t pop and the fifth somehow slips in between the balloons. The look of disbelief on Azul’s face is almost laughable, though your look of disappointment made Azul pull out another five thaumarks for another five darts. 

The second’s round’s results were the same as the first, either missing or slipping in between the cracks of the balloons. Another five thaumarks, another five darts, another round of failure. Azul groaned and dragged his hands down his face, feeling frustration begin to bubble under his skin. This damn game was getting annoying. 

Another five, another round, but Azul managed to get two balloons this time. He rubbed his temples. This was going to be more difficult than he thought. Azul took out another five thaumarks and received his five darts. 

This time, Azul takes a few moments to try and aim it, maybe hoping it’ll finally land for once. After what seemed like forever of aiming, steadying his arm, Azul throws the dart. He hears a pop and his heart jumps in excitement. You let out a small exclaim, clinging onto Azul’s arm as you watched him. The second dart, aim, steady, raise his hand just a bit, and throw the dart. Another pop. Pop after pop, the darts fly into the board and hit the balloons 

Finally, finally, the balloons popped, all the darts hitting their target. You cheered so loudly, jumping up and down and shaking Azul’s shoulder. “You did it, you did it, you did it!” 

A sense of relief runs through Azul, from finally popping those damn balloons and keeping his pride intact, but also being able to win those charm necklaces. It was an oddly nice feeling, watching as you excitedly point to those flimsy things, little freckled spots pulsing and glowing golden as the carny hands you the necklaces. You held them up to Azul, grin wide and chest full of laughter. 

“Azu! C’mere!” Despite what you said, you came closer to Azul, putting the necklace on for him and putting your own on. 

“We match, we match!” Azul watches as you point at his necklace and yours bouncing on the heels of your feet, smiling so bright. 

The rest of the trip was relatively fun, meeting back up with Jade and Floyd, who had won that octopus and more. Apparently he had decided he wanted all the plushes the carney had and took them. Whether through legitimate means or by other means, the tweels refused to elaborate. You managed to get the octopus off of Floyd and carried it around with you, Azul looping an arm with yours that helped him keep track of you as you tugged against his hold multiple times whenever you saw something that caught your eye. 

Eventually, you all had to go back to the dorms, though Floyd kept whining about how he wanted to stay longer. It was dark by the time you all returned and Azul sent you and the tweels to bed, heading to his room himself just as tired. 

As he was changing, Azul took off the charm necklace, inspecting it for a bit before taking out a container that he had kept full of coins and allowing the necklace into the container. The fake gold sheen contrasted with the coins of silver and gold, yet it felt just as precious.

[weirdgenetic-fuckup]

No Nut November - Duff

A/n: These were meant to be all put into one but then I made Duff's really long, then I made Axl's even longer, now I'm working on Steven's but the other's will also be posted separately, either way I hope you enjoy :3

Also if anyone wants to request more for Duff... ;)

Warnings: Smut, no nut November, fingering (f receiving), I completely forget everything that happened since I wrote it so if I missed anything please let me know :3

Intro

Duff walked out of the studio once they were done for the day. He had completely forgotten about the bet until Axl yelled out to him from across the parking lot. “Don’t let Popcorn win, ya hear?!” Whether he was joking or not Duff couldn’t tell, he didn’t care all too much either.

Honestly, the bet didn’t mean much to him in the first place, he just thought it would be fun to watch everyone else deal with it. He never put too much thought into whether or not he’d win or not, frankly he didn’t care. All he wanted was to get home to his partner.

It was October 31st, his plan was to come home and celebrate Halloween with his love, explain what was happening and see where that went.

He walks through the door and is met with you, his girlfriend, wearing what could potentially be the most revealing costume he’s ever seen in his life.

You did a little spin as you frolicked over to him. “You like it?” You asked with a big grin.

“Like what, the two inches of fabric covering your whole body?” He asked, a smile on his face as he admired you, his hands quickly finding their way to your hips.

“What, you no like?” You asked, looking down at yourself. “I got it for the party tonight.” Duff paused, suddenly this hot costume was no longer fun and games.

“You plan on going out in that?” You looked back up to him. “Babe, that’s a fucking thong and some cat ears.” You smiled and turned around.

“There’s a tail, too.” Indeed there was. Duff pulled on the fluffy black thing dangling out of you. A buttplug. You got a buttplug for a costume.

Duff shook his head and pushed your further into your shared apartment. “No way in hell are you leaving in that.” You laughed and flopped over onto the couch. Duff came right over to lay over top of you. “You are staying here with me for one last perfect night.” His lips crashed against yours, you happily went along with it until what he said finally caught up with you.

You pushed him away from you and nearly fell off the couch. “Last night? What do you mean ‘last night’?” You asked, tone full of worry.

Duff thought about what he said for a moment. “Oh, God, no, that’s not- that’s not at all what I meant.” He blurted, pulling you close to him. He sat you in his lap and you shifted uncomfortably due to the toy stuffed inside you. “It’s just, the guys and I made this bet to see who could last the longest through November without cumming.” He explained, toying with your hair. You let out that breath you were holding in and curled into him.

“Jesus, you fucking scared me, Duffy.” You mumbled. The bassist chuckled softly and kissed your forehead. You kissed his jaw, he kissed your nose, then you both met in the middle and your lips collided, ending in a heated makeout session.

You had your night and that was supposed to be that for the month.

A week passed and Duff was seemed fine. He hadn’t had any wet dreams, no real neediness. He did ask you to cover up a little more, though he swears it was because it was chilly. You didn’t necessarily plan on following through on this whole ordeal with him, still you hadn’t made any attempt at anything with or without him.

The first weekend was fine, you had it off and had your fun lying around all day. Monday killed you. Everyone was being an ass, some kid even got on your nerves when he ran into you with an icecream in his hand, getting it all over your new pants.

That night you came home seething, wanting nothing more than to have Duff fuck you into next week but you couldn’t even ask that.

You got in the apartment and slammed the door shut behind you, more than annoyed with the day. Duff poked his head out of the kitchen and, upon seeing you so distraught, he rushed over to you. He wrapped his arms around you and picked you up. “What happened? Rough day?” He asked as he walked you over to the couch. You groaned loudly. “That bad, huh?” Once he sat down you fell over, lying over the couch and his lap, covering your face with your hands.

“Oh, fuck off, would you?” You grumbled. Your eyes shot open and you slowly moved your hands away from your face, peering up at Duff who glared back at you.

“What was that?” He asked, knowing there wouldn’t be a good answer.

“I-I’m just tired, I didn’t-”

“No, no,” he interrupted, “say it again, I didn’t hear you the first time.” Your lips pursed in a small pout as you stayed looking up at him. “What, you had a bad day and decided to be a brat?” You shook your head. “Thought that I couldn’t do anything about it for a whole month, hm?”

“No, I just-” Duff cut you off again, this time with a harsh slap to your thigh, causing you to yelp.

“Say. It. Again.” He repeated. You let out a small whimper. Duff shook his head. “Tsk, tsk... Sweetheart, it’s one thing to say something like that but it’s another to put on this act.” His voice was degrading, cold and mean. By God did it have your cunt blushing for him.

Duff knew he couldn’t fuck you, he’d lose the bet for sure. He didn’t plan on winning but he wasn’t thrilled with the idea of losing, either. To get around this he just fingered you.

He had you in his lap, naked. Your legs hooked for his to give him full access to you and he took full advantage of it, his long, thick fingers pushing deep inside of you. He went slow, making sure to drive you crazy by hitting every spot, then he’d speed up and the room would fill with lewd sounds and loud moans as you cried out for him. Right before you came he’d stop and return to an even slower pace.

You stopped warning him when you were close in hopes of cumming but he knew anyway. “Fuck, Duffy, please! Hah- ‘M so-sorry, please!” You whined, bucking your hips against him, searching for any amount of extra friction, just something to get you over the edge.

“You’re sorry, are you?” He was right by your ear, lips caressing the shell of it. “You’ll be good if I let you cum?” You nodded enthusiastically.

“Yes! Yes, yes, I-I promise, I’ll be good!” You were clenching around his experienced fingers in anticipation. Duff planted a few soft kisses along your neck as he continued his abuse on your hole, bringing you even closer to your release.

“Cum for me, baby, cum on daddy’s fingers.” He whispered in your ear. Your eyes rolled back, your head fell onto his shoulder and your back arched as you came hard around his fingers.

You two never usually even made it a week without some kind of intimacy, even when he was on the road you’d call. That, paired with how much he teased you had a familiar yet different feeling building in your gut.

Instead of simply waves of pleasure rocking through you a gush of liquid shot out. It took Duff a second to realise what was happening but when he did he was quick to change tactics and pulled his fingers out of you to play with your clit, wanting to see as much of you squirting as he could.

He let you finish and gave you an extra few minutes to come back down from that. “I didn’t know you could do that.” His voice was soft and sweet in your ear, a full 180 from the tone he had earlier.

You shrugged. “One of us had to this month.” You joked, your voice airy and tired.

“You thought I could see that and not cum?” You looked up at him with a brow raised. You twisted in his lap to see the giant stain forming in his shorts. “Your ass kept rubbing against me, I gave up halfway through, that was just the cherry on top.” He explained and pulled you to him, kissing your neck again. “You know,” he started, “now that there isn’t a bet to worry about...” He trailed off.

Your brows raised and a smile came onto your face. You stood up and slowly started walking to the bedroom. When you were only a few steps away you turned back to him. “Last one in bottoms.” You teased. Duff booked it to the bedroom.

[lucrativesoul]

Divine Beings

summary: your new job at the town's old mansion-museum is a dream, but it's even more so to be working within its centuries old library. this building is fueled by the ancient lore of the undead walking the halls. it's all just tales, right? your archive master and new boss, Leon, knows all about those divine beings.

pairing: leon kennedy x female reader

word count: 13.0k

warnings: smut, borderline public sex (no voyeurism), blood ingestion

a/n: i can't begin to tell you guys how excited i am to be posting this. consider this my halloween gift, but we all know the darker genres are not just for the season! I had so much fun writing this. diving head first into this has really helped me through this rough time in my life situationships are hell and if no one got me at least leon got me :') (and u guys ofc) thank you so much for stopping by and reading, i really really hope you enjoy, and I promise to be back soon with another one. <3

“It won’t be too much of a challenge.” The soft voice coming from the woman in front of you bounced off the walls and high ceilings, making her even harder to decipher than she was in the first place. “All questions about the archive can be redirected to the master archivist, and I’m sure sooner or later you will be retaining all of that important information.”

You said nothing as you followed her down the hall, the click of your heels ever prominent amongst the deserted expanse. For a mansion built hundreds of years ago, they did well to keep it tidy and up to standard. You were impressed.

At the end of the long hall, yellow from the lamps glittering in intervals in the hall, you could see a grand set of large mahogany doors, intricately carved with inlays that you can only imagine must have taken just as long to complete as the residence itself. The initial nerves of the morning were gone, and now you were just more excited than anything to be able to enter one of the oldest libraries in a hundred mile radius, and now you work here. 

The smaller lady who was guiding you, whose name you have already forgotten, leaned all her weight on the doors and pushed both of them inward, the two slabs of wood swinging open revealing possibly your most anticipated sight of your life.

The entryway was one tiny landing, with large staircases birthing off the sides to your left and right, making a gentle curve to the main floor. The walls, well, simply put, there were no walls, rather everything that would have been a wall was lined floor to ceiling with bookshelves, each one packed with differing widths, heights, colors of books, paperback, leather, hardcover, fabric. In the middle of the room were more free standing shelves, still packed to the brim, and the occasional long wooden table with seats scattered about the room. Directly opposite the entryway was a large window, facing the front of the mansion, and it served as the main attractor to the building. Rectangular at the bottom, it shaped off at the top, nearly fifty feet high, in a gothic style pointed arch, nestled gently in between two, much skinnier, similarly shaped windows, which were fixed off at the top with stained glass, giving the brown room rays of color on the sunny days.

You stepped forward, and having seemingly expected this reaction, your guide didn’t say a word for a moment while you took in your grand view. You almost couldn’t speak. It was more than you were expecting. It was everything.

Though it was a sunny day, you already found yourself anticipating the oncoming bad weather, knowing the treacherous drive through the rain would be so worth it to be here on a rainy day.

“Let’s go down to the archive office.” The woman’s tone was gentle, knowing you most likely would not have moved from your spot if she didn’t push you along. You followed her down the left staircase.

There were a few stragglers in the grand room. The manion’s open hours were not near close yet, but you were surprised there weren’t more people here at this hour. You doubted that it had anything to do with the age old rumors about the estate, there was no way people truly kept away because of those tall tales. 

After coming off the staircase, you craned your neck up high, reveling in the surrounding papers and scrolls adorning the walls. You tried your best to keep up with the woman while also having your attention diverted, but had to fully look down when she ducked into a corridor below the main landing. 

This hallway was plain and simple, and you felt your resolve slowly crumble away as you remembered why you were here–a job. 

“The furthest of my knowledge is to bring you into the archive office and wait for the master archivist to meet you here. If you want to take a seat, he should be here shortly. Welcome to the museum crew.” She smiled at you, and after a thank you, you pulled out the seat in front of the desk and sat down. Alone in the room now, you turned your head to look at the surroundings, trying to gauge what type of environment this would be.

Despite your history in the field, you were still surprised when you got a call back wanting to have an interview, and when that went well and you were hired a week later, shock still warmed your body, paired with the growing excitement when you realized you would be working in the epicenter of your old town’s rich history museum and archive, and the home of all the town’s tall tales.

With all your years of studying classic literature spinning the yarn of mythical creatures, it was a no brainer when you saw this opportunity present itself. 

You jumped in your chair when your name was spoken in a low rasp. You turned around briskly.

“I’m sorry, you startled me.” You stood in an instant, extending your hand, ready to introduce yourself, but it appeared the stranger already knew who you were.

“It’s alright, many say I have that effect.” You sat down at his gesture to do so, and he walked around the opposite side of the bland, deep wooden desk. This man, instantly captivating, wore a simple white button down with a crisp black vest over top. He had a wiry pair of glasses tucked into the collar, where the top button lay opened. His hair was a dirty blonde, browning at the roots. The sharp contours of his face showed years of experience, and you caught no air of uncertainty from the way he presented himself. Intrigued would be an understatement.

“Did our lobby host introduce you well? I know one walk down the foyer isn’t nearly a fraction of the time needed to look around, but, maybe it gave a taste to what’s to come.”

You nodded gently, your eyes still trained on his face. “Oh, yes, she most definitely let me take it in for a moment. I can’t wait to know everything better.”

He nodded, shifting through a folder and some papers. You were almost embarrassed at how you couldn’t take your eyes away from him, not even for a second, hoping the staring would come second to whatever information he was about to share with you. 

“What drew you here? It’s quite tucked away.” He was still not looking at you, so you made no move to avert your own gaze.

“Well,” You began, taking a second to form a proper sentence. “I’ve always wanted to work in a grand archive like this one. It is just so full of new opportunities, new experiences. I’ve always loved this place.”

He nodded. “I felt the same as well. I wish I could tell you how swelled I was when I walked in here the first time, but it was so long ago, I barely remember it. Anyway,” He studied the paper intensely, then looked back up at you. You felt heated suddenly. “You had a pretty extensive background in literary culture, criticism, and classic studies. You were with a publishing branch for a few years?”

You nodded. “It didn’t pan out to my hopes, and I jumped at this chance when I saw they were on the hunt for a new archivist.”

He hummed. “I was. I was looking for someone new. Our last had left us suddenly, we had a vacancy.” You nodded again, the innate curiosity taking over about the ex-archivist. “So, you understand the majority of your job title, yes?” Nodded again, but said nothing so he could continue. “Basically, working side by side with me, the better half of our tasks will unfortunately be rearranging once the public comes through, they tend to leave things everywhere, I’m sure you know, and the other half is once our doors are closed, we do many of the repairs on the classics, restocking our souvenir books, and the tedious paperwork that comes along with the museum establishment.”

For a final time, you nodded. “I’m greatly looking forward to it.” 

Now, he looked into your eyes, and he tilted his head gently forward. “I’m greatly looking forward to you joining us. As of right now, it’s just me and one other, so now it’s three.”

You smiled, then it faltered a moment once you remembered something. “I’m sorry, I don’t know if you said your name.”

His lopsided grin painted a picture in your mind that you knew you would be seeing even when you closed your eyes. “Leon Kennedy. Master archivist.”

–

You hadn’t imagined you would live to see a day when you were looking forward to stepping into your place of work, but this had proven you wrong. You were motivated by the mere thought of being surrounded by all the books and pages, all the knowledge you could possibly dream about, learning something new every day.

But, you knew secretly since starting, you would be lying to yourself if you denied the effect that Leon had on your willingness to come in everyday. He greeted you with gentleness, and you couldn't help but always match his energy when you walked into the office in the morning hours. Always spotting the grin on his face at the sight of you as well. It grew to a blazing heat in your chest to see this reaction.

There was a routine you followed with great ease after only a week. It truly was the most of what Leon had said it would be, and to your own surprise, when curious visitors asked about the archive’s collections, you picked up on the correct answers faster than you had expected.

One of your favorite end of day tasks, oddly enough, was replacing the books that visitors had taken off the shelves to browse. It exposed you to so much literature and titles that you had or hadn’t heard of, and gave you a better idea of the archive itself, and its shelf locations. There was nothing more relaxing in your life than admiring the centuries of artform adoring these bookcases.

Here, you found yourself sliding leather bounds back into their places, reveling at every cover for as long as you could get away with, feeling the slick material slide under your fingers as you pushed them into their homes on the shelves. Taking two steps forward, looking down at the engraving in the cover, embossed in golden letters, you startle when you knock into something hard, grip hardening on the book so as not to drop or damage it.

“I’m so sorry, Leon. I didn’t even hear you coming. Very quiet.” He looked down at you, his deep black shirt sucking the color out of everything around him. An amused expression danced on his features.

“So people have told me. I was trying to find you earlier for a question, but you’ve eluded me for the last thirty minutes.”

You smiled gently, but had to avert your eyes down to the books you were still caressing, lest your eyes should wander over the fabric stretched thin over his upper arms. You did not need this mental image lasting with you for who knows how long.

“Sorry for that, but, here I am. What’s up?” 

Leon, so you have come to the conclusion, is much different than any overseer of a job you have had in the past. HIs gentle authoritative style pushed you in the correct direction he wanted you to take as an archive employee, but he never became harsh or strict with any of his guidelines. In fact, the way he approached conversation felt much more like a casual coworker rather than a boss. 

“I had an opportunity you may be interested in. Finish your tasks here, and come up to my office. We can discuss it, I think you’ll be intrigued.”

You nodded, but grabbed his attention quickly at the notice of a small piece of information. “Wait, Leon,” He turned around at the sound of his name. “Your office? I don’t know where that is, I don't think I have been there yet.”

He nodded slowly. “Of course, I forgot. I’ll wait over by the information desk for you to finish. Don’t rush.” 

You nodded, though he had already turned around. You took an extra second to trace his path with your gaze, wondering what this tight, breathless feeling in your chest was every time he was in your presence. 

With empty hands, you stalked over to the center of the room, finding Leon’s back to you, hands shuffling through a stack of folders. He disregarded them when he heard you approach.

“Follow me.” Then, with a small impressed gesture on his face, “Faster than I expected.”

You said nothing as you followed him through the library, watching his back intently as if something were going to happen any second. Surely he could feel the way you were staring, how could he not? If this were you, you would have felt someone looking all over you.

He presented you to a discreet door tucked into the back wall of the archive, a mere few feet away from the large windows, now letting the dying sunset light in to paint the room orange. He stepped aside to let you in first, but what you were expecting to see was nowhere in sight. Instead of an office, a room, even a closet with a desk, chair, and maybe even a computer, it was a staircase. A spiral staircase at that, and it looked like it went up at least thirty feet.

“Your office is up there?” You couldn't help but ponder out loud while staring listlessly, yet amazed, above. You heard him snicker behind you.

“It is. How could I not have taken that one when presented to me? Go on. They won’t get any shorter.”

You shook your head to snap yourself out of the sudden daze, and carefully took the steps. This location was painfully plain compared to the rest of the archive, and part of you understood why, but also wished you had something to look at on the way up.

The tall, dark, wooden door presented in front of you looked like an import from the homes of the finest wood slabs of ebony, intricate carvings on each of the inlays. Not even the doors of the archive looked like this, it seemed such a waste to be hidden up these stairs, guarding Leon's private office. Maybe he personally requested this door to be here. What an interesting design choice, if so.

You pushed it open, not waiting for further instruction as there would have been nothing else to do. This office held far more personality than the one you were used to seeing on the ground floor, and you were positive you could spend just as many hours dissecting the shelves in this little room as you could on the main exhibit.

It was clear this room was built out of what might have been a buttress back in the gothic ages, the ceiling was high, circular and pointed, raw wooden beams were exposed to support the cone roof above you. The shelves were rounded, contrasted with the straight edge ones below. Books that looked as old as the dawn of time were cluttered on these shelves, a thought that almost made you panic, the treatment of them would make their casings fall off their backs faster than usual.

Leon didn’t miss any of your observations. “These are from a collection that I couldn’t possibly put down on the main floor, obviously they have seen better days. They don’t need more of the public’s touch to wither them even further.”

You swallowed, and forced yourself to face him. He was taking a seat in a grand maroon velvet desk chair. Even that looked ornate. “Aren’t you worried handling them like this is even worse?”

He gestured at the seat in front of the desk, then shook his head. He spoke only when you sat down. “They have been with me for years, I know how they behave by now.”

You had nothing to say in return, so you simply affixed your gaze onto his, waiting to hear the reason he brought you up here.

“You’ve found a passion in this place, I can tell.” His voice was low, and it made you shiver. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen someone treat this place like a living entity.”

“It feels alive…” You started, but had no way to finish. He was drawing the words right from your mind. 

“I do believe so as well. What brought you here? Besides what you studied making this a readily available opportunity.”

You looked down for a moment. Truthfully, it was a little childish why you were here. You knew that much and you could at least admit that to yourself. But, could you admit that to Leon? It had turned out that you loved this place as much as you would love a home you had been in for years, this place never became a burden to walk into, and you doubted that it would ever become that. You didn’t know what kind of answer he was expecting to hear from you, but Leon could be trusted. You knew that well enough by this point. He expressed his gratitude to your presence to the archive many times and surely, don’t you owe him the truth for that?

“To be honest with you…” You started tentatively. His face showed no shift in expression. “I have loved this place since I was a child. Something about it, maybe the aura, drew me to it. That’s why I think I feel it… why it feels so alive to me.” He nodded, not interrupting your thoughts. “This town’s folklore is something I loved for all my life.”

This time, he closed his eyes and nodded slowly, as if finally understanding why you had come here. And, he did, as that once sentence, you knew, would explain to any local why you chose this mansion. This archive.

“Maybe that’s silly of me,” You shook your head at yourself slightly. “But I think I owe it to the child who directed my path in life.”

He smiled at you, no sense of mockery on his face. “Let me ask you this, though,” You sat still, waiting. “Do you believe?”

You did not need to think this time. “Yes. I do.”

Leon leaned back in his chair and let his forearms lay on the armrests by his sides. “I think you are wise for that. Many choose to stop believing in folklore once they hit such an age where they know stories from historical recounts, but, don’t you think the two meld together at some point?”

You nodded. “I have always believed in that. And as soon as I stepped in here… the minute I came here to get this job, and even as a child, when I saw this place, I knew the stories were true. There’s no way that this place doesn’t have its hidden secrets.”

“Hidden in plain sight. Everyone talks of the vampire roaming the halls.” Leon added.

You quirked a smile– you couldn't help it. “What’s not to believe about that? I can feel it when I'm here.”

Leon nodded, his smile not fading. After this conversation, you knew you made the right choice in choosing to trust Leon. How could you not?

“People are drawn here on the idea that they will spot him somewhere, but look far too closely. They think every staff member could be him in disguise. They look down every dark hallway wishing to see him slinking around the corner, trying to hide. They look in every window from the outside, thinking he is hiding from the sun. But, there comes the melding, and the separating of truth and fiction. Why should he be doing those things, because they believe it to be true, or because they were told to believe it?”

You had nothing to say to this at first. You knew Leon would be holding a plethora of information on the mansion-museum’s lore as being home to the city's resident vampire from centuries ago. You couldn’t consume enough information on the idea, and yet, Leon still stunned you with what he had to say about it, simply because he had been here to see the behavior of those who believe in him. You wished he would keep talking about it, but knew that the premonition of a mythical being lurking the hallways was probably not the reason he brought you up here to talk about in the first place.

“Your candor is appreciated here.” He held his smile, and his eyes were sincere along with his spoken words. The windows didn’t allow an incredible amount of light into the room, the lamp sitting by his side on the desk casting a yellow haze over the space, the red lampshade drenching everything above in a blood tint. Even through this distortion, you could see how blue his irises were. Icy. A tingle ran across the skin of your arms.

“Now, for what you are actually up here for.” He broke the gaze, and you involuntarily released a sigh of relief. Looking down at his desk, in nothing in particular, you noticed there was nothing of importance on its surface, he continued. “Every so often, for no reason other than to bring variety in, we have a few shelves in the center of the floor that we rearrange to bring in new displays, or to shift the attention to something else.” You nodded, and you were sure you knew he was going to ask for your assistance in moving everything. You didn't mind. “Right now the table has displays of books on the history of witchcraft and others of the sort, quite fitting for the upcoming season, but quite the insult to the monument they’ve decided to promote within.” He sighed. You couldn’t help but smile. “But, I think we can get even better.”

“I have ideas. I think I could help with this.”

Leon smiled wider. A gesture he doesn't often show to the general patronage. It made you feel warm. “That’s what I was hoping you would say. Now, though, an unfortunate part.” He sighed, and his smile disappeared. More shivers took place in your body of the heat. “I would prefer it to be done by the end of this week, and because the mighty institution is using the Halloween season to promote museum ticket sales,” Another sigh. “They’ve extended our opening hours. Now, we, as the archive, do have the liberty to close our area before they close the museum’s doors, but I've been strongly advised against doing so.”

You nodded again, listening. He shrugged, looking at you, as if waiting for an input you didn’t know you should give. You squeaked out an agreement.

“I would like to shift two days of your hours to overnight. Would that be a problem?”

“It’s not. This is my full time job now, so I'm at your expense.”

He chuckled softly at your words. “Not an expense, just… assistance.”

Nonetheless, even if Leon did agree to your words of expense, you would be agreeing. He told you the guidelines, don’t come in for the day shifts, just come in for the nighttime. He handed over a key, an old, brass one that he told you would unlock the large archive doors after hours. You agreed with no hesitation, of course.

You had discovered soon after this, that fear could exist in the same plane as excitement. Really, isn’t fear just an overwhelming excitement of something unknown? Standing in front of the mansion, you craned your neck as far back as your body would allow. The looming building was dark, save for a few spotlights, but other than that, it was as dead as the night around you. The suspicious lack of insect and animal life noises was eerie, but you swallowed that lump of nerves, and walked up to the front.

As Leon instructed you, flashing your badge to the night guards let you right through, and you followed the path you have come to know so well that led right to the archive doors. 

It was a strange aura that surrounded you, one that made you hesitate briefly before unlocking, and relocking yourself inside. The air was so still, and that life you felt pulsing through the corridors on a daily basis was missing now. There was nothing, no one, no noise to fill your ears, so the blood pumping through was your only solace now. Before you could sit on this any longer and unease yourself further, you moved on.

The lock slid cleanly into place, and the resounding click that was heard resonated throughout the hall. You pushed the door open, wanting to get away from any undead lurking eyes that may be watching you. 

Not turning to shut the door behind you, you stared out into the vast expanse of the dark archive. The shelves were still, though shadows flitted in between them as if dancing with the moonlight. Every time you blinked, dark figures appeared at the edge of your vision, teasing your brain, making a shudder do its rounds throughout your nervous system. Though you loved this place, the nighttime gave it a whole new personality you weren’t sure you were quite ready to uncover. 

Turning to your right, you flipped the first two lightswitches, casting a spotlight down onto the center of the floor, and one at the door where you stood. You nearly jumped out of your skin when you turned back around.

“Leon!” You cried out.

Said man was in the center of the floor, as if coming out to greet you like it was the middle of the day. He had on a white button down, the first two loose around his neck, and his hair falling lazily over the left side of his forehead. It took even longer for your breath to still.

“You���re here?” You gasped out.

“Yes, I was wondering when you would get here. I guess you are right on schedule, though.” You carefully fled down the stairs, not taking your eyes off Leon, curious if he would disappear again. 

“Here with all the lights off? How could you see?” He didn’t answer your question until you were now face to face with him, having placed your belongings on the staircase, figuring you would not be spending much time in the office.

He shrugged slowly. “You get used to it after a while. There’s something about this place at night, I don’t get many chances to enjoy it with only myself.” You said nothing to this, just trying to digest his logic. There was no point in arguing it.

“Well, we should probably get started then?” He smiled softly at your words and flung instructions at you, making the night go by as if you were asleep through it all. 

With half of the display moved, Leon had stalked away to the main office, and you cleaned up the floor to pass until he let the both of you out. Standing next to the tall shelves, facing the window, you almost started to understand what Leon had said earlier. There is something about the place at night.

You had never thought you would get to experience that, though, of course. What other chance would you be wandering throughout these aisles all alone at night, with all the lights off? You were curious now, and jealous that Leon had been the one to experience that, and you might not ever.

You walked slowly towards the window, the lights behind you fading the further you went from them. Your fingertips grazed the edges of the shelves you walked along, as if picking up all the information held on them in one little touch. The night looked cold from where you stood, and you almost felt the temperature on your skin in that instant. The moon was full and bright, and it lit up your skin like the lights now behind you. Though these walls were thick and with plenty of objects in the room to muffle the sound, it could not drown out the roaring chorus of crickets perched in every branch right outside the glass. The chirps matched the beating of your heart, and soon the rush of blood was replaced by the insects' whispers, a cacophony of life, your vessel was the audience.

You saw yourself in the glass. Your skin lit up by the moon's graces, the hollows of your face carved out in deep shadows, you became painted into the history within these mansion walls, and you looked as if you always belonged. Eternal.

“The moon is bright.” 

You gasped and startled again, turning swiftly to see Leon peering over your shoulder, looking at the same illusive mirror that you were. “You should stop doing that Leon, I’m going to have a heart attack one of these days.” You breathed out a laugh. 

“I thought I was obvious enough, but I suppose not.” He looked past you back into the window again. “The moonlight makes you look marvelous.”

Your stomach twisted. You felt a blush rise to your cheeks, and couldn't help but turn back around to look again, and dare you say, you agreed. Your airbrushed skin, even flawless in the reflection of the glass, a gentle chiaroscuro against the vast emptiness behind you. Except for–

“Full moon nights are when I feel the most company here. I think she wants to be alive here as well.” You turned again, seeing Leon having unmoved from directly behind you. The cool blue light sitting atop his cheekbones, highlighting strands of blonde hair, contrasting the blaze of his hazel eyes, which were unrelenting on you. He, too, was a relief sculpture under the coalescence of the moon and the shadows. Where was his portrait to be viewed next to yours?

“Yeah, I… I agree now.” Though you felt a shiver crawl through you, you couldn’t make yourself turn around again to look. Your body was preventing you from doing so. Simply, you could only walk past Leon, back onto the main floor.

The ride home along in your car proved no more solace than you were hoping. You could see the silhouette of the mansion grow smaller and smaller in the rearview mirror, and it felt like departing from a friend who did nothing but tell all their troubles. It was hard to believe how quickly your image of the place shifted, though, you still felt so drawn, and so attracted to the premises. And, not to mention, the man within its walls.

What you saw puzzled you. Simply, it had been a trick of the light. You knew that there was no way the light from the moon was able to reach every point of the floor, so he was standing in the shadow. But, how had he approached so silently? Leon was always so silent. This wasn’t the first time the man has snuck up on you. A few others have said he gives them a fright as well, but it seems to happen to you much more often.

Leon was an enigma, in more ways than one. He spoke in riddles, or it felt like it. You read plenty of classics in your time studying literature, and it was as if he had taken his vocabulary straight from works published a century ago. With a borderline transatlantic accent, it always took you a moment to decipher his sentences. It wasn’t as if he read too many of the classics, it was like he came from one. 

As silly as the idea might sound to others, you believed it fully. It was just a tall tale from times past, warning people of a monster that didn’t exist. They kept the legend going to fuel tourism and sell museum tickets, but some still believed, and one of those some was you. You felt this answer in your heart fully and truly, and while it scared you to a degree, it awoke an excitement as never before felt in you. That almost scared you more.

There was no way that Leon wasn’t the vampire roaming the halls of the old mansion and archive.

His aura was one you had never felt in a person before. You have been attracted to people in the past, but you never felt someone so physically radiant that it was almost tangible. His gaze cut right through you like the sharpest knife, bringing a stinging trail along your skin as well as the burning desire to feel it again. It was undeniable, you had never felt such an insane attraction to someone you barely knew, yet, knowing that plus your newfound discovery, which you fully believed in, you wanted to dive headfirst into this unknown territory to explore. 

All day this weighed on your mind. You couldn’t rid Leon’s image from your thoughts. You couldn’t deny, even without the personality that occupied your thoughts, he was one of the most handsome men you had ever seen. He was picturesque in form, a painting made by the most skilled hands. You were ashamed to admit, only slightly, that you were dying to know more about the maps of his body. He always hid under button up shirts, but none that were ever too big that you couldn’t tell he had large biceps, most of the time the sleeves rolled up so the veins in his forearm protruded with movement. The sight always made your mouth dry.

You had to assume, only based on these facts, that he must have been fit, and if he was, which you had no doubt of, paired with his stunning profile, you weren’t sure how you made it so far into this job without making an attempt to pass out in his arms.

As expected, you could think of nothing else leading up to the hours you had to join him back for the second overnight shift. You honestly forgot the whole purpose of you going at this time, all of that having been pushed to the side in favor of thinking of the man in charge of the place. You were nervous, yet anticipated your arrival, hoping to gain more clues to back up your (unwavering, in your mind) hypothesis.

The guards let you in without the flash of your badge. You slinked quietly through the main hall, footsteps bouncing off of every surface. There wasn’t a soul in sight, yet you felt life all over your body. 

The key slid into the lock with ease, and the tell tale clink of the turn mechanism followed.

“Leon?” Your voice echoed through the archive as you shut the door behind you. The lights were off, once again.

You bound down the steps, dropping your belongings on the same stair as the previous night. This time, instead of heading right to the center of the floor to converge with Leon, you stood still on the last step.

“Leon?” You asked again after the man did not do his magical appearance trip at your entry. You felt a cold chill run over your skin. Now, you feel more alone than before. For the first time since becoming involved in the archive, the aisles and books were more sinister than inviting, and every dark corner had a spirit watching you.

You slowly left the stair you held solace on, and walked forward into the center of the room. It felt like every shelf and spine were staring at you with wide eyes, waiting for you to make a wrong move. You wanted to get to work, but you could barely will yourself back up the stairs to the lightswitch. You looked around again as if begging for help from a bystander who was not there.

There was a sudden shift in the air. You weren’t sure now if it was real or if you were hallucinating, but you felt a constricting sensation in your chest, and you felt not alone anymore. Leon was nowhere in sight, but you knew someone else was here.

Suddenly, you couldn’t take it anymore. The silence was enveloping you like a thick rope, and your breath was coming out sloppy. You had to leave.

You took one step backwards and hit a wall behind you. You yelped, not remembering stepping anywhere else besides the center of the room. You turned, and nearly jumped higher out of your body at the sight of what, or who, was behind you.

“You were down here with the lights off. Is something wrong or are you trying out my methods?”

Leon stood before you, in his usual uniform of a white button down shirt and black pants. His hair looked longer tonight, not pushed back with gel, but soft waves were falling across his face, pushed aside to let his sculpted face show through. Here, in the dark, he was much more brooding than he could have ever come across during your typical shifts. That gaze was not the friendly one you had seen in times past.

“No, no I just…” You swallowed, the words falling right out of your mouth. “I thought you would be here. Well, you are, now, but…” You gestured behind you, still feeling the presence of non-existent bodies. 

Leon slowly nodded at your words, not moving towards you, but you felt his presence getting closer. 

“I have been here. I was in the office.” He gestured behind him lazily, to the office you were used to frequenting as an employee. The door was closed.

You shook your head. “I didn’t hear you, though.” You looked again at the door, and when you looked back into his eyes, he knew what you were thinking. He was lying, and he knew you knew that. 

“You know I’m quiet.” His tone felt like a surge straight from your head to your feet, rooting you into place no matter how much you urged your brain to send movement to your limbs.

“Well…” You pushed words out of your throat. “I guess let’s finish this, then.” You broke eye contact and finally felt your body moving forward, but you knew he was still looking at you. You could feel it. 

The moon, if it were even possible, was even brighter this night. It’s full face projected into the windows like a spotlight, and once you were able to put your body into motion and further the project of moving book displays, you barely paid note of how Leon never turned the lights on for the both of you. Maybe he could see perfectly well.

It was nearing one in the morning at this point, and you had one last stack to move. You made gentle conversation with Leon throughout, refusing to put on a strange facade solely off of your own thoughts. He reverted back to his normal state, though normal is a generous word to use for a man like Leon. 

You walked back to the table being used to house books while they are moved, and picked up the last stack. Bram Stoker, Dracula.

This made you snap your head up. You were sure this hadn’t been on the list set to display, yet, here it was. You looked around, trying to search out Leon to question him about this last minute addition. But, as expected, you realized, he was nowhere to be seen. In fact, you don't remember what he was doing last.

“Leon?” You looked back over to the office door, still closed. You would have heard if he went in there and closed it behind him. You put the stack of books down and walked (slowly, you now felt that desolate aloneness again) over to the back right corner, towards Leon’s private office.

You could not make yourself walk any quicker than the snail pace you currently set. It was odd, and you knew if you were afraid you should be walking faster, but for some reason, surrounded by these books and shelves, you felt as if the faster you moved, the quicker you would be caught. Caught by what? You couldn’t answer that question, yet the word suddenly appeared in your head to describe the situation.

You were distracted on the way to the back. You thought, again, you saw a drift of black smoke waft by as if it were another hallucination. You stopped in your tracks, heart in your throat. You shifted paths, only momentarily, you were now desperate to be back in the company of Leon, your supposed vampire master archivist.

The carpet below you muffled your footsteps, but still, you noticed they were loud enough to be heard, unlike how Leon had been appearing from behind you out of thin air. You almost had to squint as you walked by the windows, the moonlight a sudden burst of fireworks in contrast to the dim workspace you had been habiting. As expected, after leering around the corners, hoping to sneak up on the entity, there was nothing but empty space.

There was a light pattering at the window, and you turned your head to see the sky spitting down on you. The window, slowly becoming stained with raindrops, still held that brush stroked image of you, forever intertwined within the archive. It was a hypnotizing image, as if you no longer recognized yourself the more the rain came down. It was a comforting sound, the taps of the drops on the glass filling the void. It felt like another presence, and it calmed you down to a degree, as calm as you could allow yourself to get.

There was a creak from behind you, as if someone had opened a door, or stepped on a stair. You whipped back around, hoping to see Leon at this point, but still, he was nowhere to be seen. The room was still, everything untouched, but your eyes still scanned every crevice, convinced you were going to miss something if you weren’t careful. 

The rain was still sounding off behind you, and you could see the bending of the light as it cast onto the floor. It was the only thing moving. You were far too on edge now.

You turned back to the window…

“Leon!” You took a step back, now more afraid than surprised at his sudden appearance. “Where did you come from? I’ve been looking for you.” You took a huff, trying to catch your breath from his genuinely scaring you. He was standing in front of the window, the moon behind him casting into a deep silhouette, face barely available. 

“I’ve been here the whole time.” His voice was lower than before now, and you could barely piece together thoughts. He turned his head to the side, as if surveying the room that you were just inspecting. His eyes caught a glimpse of the light, and you saw the deep yellow in them. It sent a sudden pit to your stomach, and a memory to flash in front of your eyes.

The day he had taken you up to his office, and you spoke about the legends of the vampire, and why you were drawn to the house. You remember the look he gave you when he had said he appreciated your honesty. 

Leon had blue eyes that day. That color was nowhere to be seen now.

You swallowed, trying to moisten your mouth in order to speak. “No… no you weren’t. I looked for you. You disappeared. And you just came out of nowhere. What is going on with you, Leon?” As hard as you tried to suppress it, you heard the trembling sounds that came out of your mouth. It was audible that you were panicking, and he knew it. 

He stared at you for another moment. His arms were clasped behind his back. “What are you afraid of?”

The rumbling of his voice shot straight through you, to your dismay, and you forced all your composure together to face him without folding.

You gave him a once over, trying to find… something, that might give him away. What you were looking for exactly, you couldn’t say, but you couldn’t stare into his eyes any longer, especially having realized they were not the same eyes you saw a few days ago.

“You’re just… being odd, Leon.” You looked back into his eyes, or what you could see of them from underneath the shadows. Being this close to him, you felt like you were suffocating, and you needed air. “I would like to finish this now.”

You slowly side stepped him, Leon still unmoving in his position against the window. You sighed and turned your head, catching your rain-distorted reflection once again. It was you, a mirror image of someone suffering the same mystifying scenarios as you were in the present moment, standing ever alone against the bookshelves, not offering the comfort they usually do. 

You stopped short in your tracks and did a double take. Now your body was fully turned toward the window. 

Your reflection stared at you, looking just as perplexed as you did. Without shifting your eyes to the side, you saw the equally distorted reflection of the wooden shelves, illuminated under the lunar glow. You saw your empty hands, you saw the dark hallway behind you, and out of your peripheral vision you saw that Leon had not moved from his spot yet… yet you could not see him.

Leon was not present in the reflection. 

You could do nothing but stare in shock and slight horror as you watched the whole scene unfold. A part of you was now realizing, though you had put two and two together in the comfort and safety of your own home, now in the presence of the man and seeing the evidence with your own two eyes, your veins ran cold, and you could not will yourself to move. Not until Leon did.

He shifted, you couldn’t even turn your head to watch. Now he was out of any point of view you had, but you felt his presence press himself against your back, staring into the same image you were. It was the most disorienting experience, feeling Leon’s body behind you, yet not seeing him peering over your shoulder. It didn’t take an expert for him to know how you were feeling in this moment, and you were also sure he knew exactly what conclusion you had just come to.

“What are you thinking?” His deep voice presented itself directly in your ear, and you felt the featherlight graze of his lips on the shell. You could feel the strands of his hanging blonde waves hit your cheek, and while your eyes stung like you wanted to cry, a blaze set itself alight within your body at his proximity.

You could only shake your head slowly at first. “You…” You fumbled over your words, unable to take your eyes off of the glass. The mysterious image of only you and not the person directly behind you will forever be burned into memory. “What are you?”

You heard him inhale slowly. You felt the heat from his face lift away from yours, but it only moved up a fraction, his mouth now pressing closely into your hairline. 

“Don’t you know already? You’re a smart girl.” He was condescending with his words, most surely using what you had told him a few days ago against you now. All that talk you did about you believing the legend of the mansion’s vampire, yet here you were, standing right in front of him and refusing to say it out loud.

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Your voice was barely louder than a tremble. “You let me run my mouth like a fool in your office, and you didn’t even tell me that I was right this whole time.” Your tongue was so dry, speaking became a task. Your fingers were growing numb, but you still found it hard to move.

He snickered, and you felt the air from his breath fan your face. “And ruin the surprise? I’d much rather see the look on your face after you put it together yourself than having told you right then and there. There’s nothing I love more than when I see someone realize the reality of their convictions. Quite especially someone like you.”

You closed your eyes. It was all you could stand to do at this moment. You shot them back open, however, when you felt his broad hand at your back, pushing you forward, closer to the glass. 

Walking closer to the window with the rain now coming down steadily against it, he released where he had put his hand, but did not remove himself from your closeness. 

“What do you see?” 

He said nothing more, waiting for you to find the composure to be able to speak properly again. As hard as you tried to look past your bleary visage to the outside world, it was nearly impossible. It was dark as ever out there, the moon unrelenting in her radiance. 

After a few more seconds, “Myself.” You heard Leon hum from behind you. 

“And?” He egged you on.

You shook your head. “That’s it. I can see the moon. The rain.” Your voice grew softer, body relaxing slowly, but for what cause, you weren’t able to find. You involuntarily let out a low sigh when you felt the tips of his fingers crawl up the right side of your neck, settling on your jaw. He pushed your head to the side, enough to expose the canvas of flesh in the reflection.

“Curious… Don’t you think?” His hand flitted lower, raising a trail of goosebumps along the tender skin. A finger pressed inward, right underneath the crook of your jaw, feeling the pulse of your bloodstream. “How much of yourself you can see, the first thing you always notice, for the living must look and be vain.”

Chills spread quickly throughout your body. His hand felt shockingly warm, the opposite of what you would have expected from the typical vampirical lore. 

“You… you don’t know what you look like?” You whispered.

“How should I? I’m not able to unless someone lets me know, but even then, do I want to?”

You said nothing for a moment, trying to breathe through the weakness in your abdomen at his touch, which was still laid over the tender place on your throat.

“I’d like to think you still look the same as the day you stopped aging.” He hummed again at your words. Despite his remark of not knowing if he would like anyone to tell him what he looked like, he let you continue in your description. “You’re like a sculpture. Rough around the edges but so blended out, only made by hands whom the gods approved of.” His hand left your pulse, settling on the crook of your neck and shoulder, slightly squeezing. You couldn’t see, of course, but you felt that he still held his face close to yours. “You’d almost be better fitted walking the main halls as a work of art than hiding in these books.”

“That is very affirming to hear from a woman like you.” A breath of silence, then he continued. “You’ve always known, you always believed, and you know what I am. I’m quite drawn to you, I am long familiar with the feeling of someone who is covered in fear, it’s nowhere present on you.” He brought his lips down back to your ear, and you felt his left hand sneak around your waist. Your knees almost buckled. “You’re captivating… I cannot bring myself to keep things professional at all times.”

You were now, truly, at a loss for words, however he did not take your silence as resilience. The hand that was not around your waist was now pushing down the shoulder of your top, revealing the smooth skin. You shuddered again, letting your eyes close once more, and you gave in to the physical feelings over trying to rationalize anything verbally. 

“I can’t stand here and deny myself from trying to get to you any longer. I have to know… I must know…” His voice was a borderline growl in your ear now, and you shocked yourself with the smallest whimper that poured over your lips. It only fueled him. 

You were pushed forward by a sudden force from Leon, both hands coming up to brace yourself against the window. You were glad no one had ever turned the lights on, if any of the guards decided to walk the perimeter, surely you would have been seen.

Interestingly enough to you, despite being in the current position you were, you no longer felt any anxiety from being in the presence of your manifested form of Leon the vampire. Though he did stand there and confirm it all to you, no part of you felt like you needed to run away any longer. In fact, the contrast between the cold window and his warm body was all the convincing you needed to stay.

“I would never do this on an ordinary day, if it were anyone else I would fight these urges, but with you… I just find myself succumbing to something I wanted so suddenly.” His mouth moved against the skin of your neck, and you arched back into his body behind you. “I will not continue unless you tell me not to, but you should know I need more than just the one thing from you right now…” 

The deep octaves of his voice had your thoughts swimming, and any rational mind had flown far out the window. There was nothing to argue with when there was nothing you felt the need to refuse. 

“I…” A gasp from you, collecting breath you had not known you were holding. “I can’t let you do this then let you loose. This is too far beyond simplicity now.” Your breath fogged the window, and you couldn't help but notice once more how you could only see your bare shoulder in the glass, and not his large hand around the bone.

“I would never,” His lips were tucked up under your jawline, the vibrations from his voice being felt all over your body. A kiss would be less intimate. “You’re mine.”

At once, his hand on your waist tightened and he opened his mouth, his sharp fangs pierced the flesh right underneath your pulse and you gasped loudly, the pinch making you stiffen at first, then making your legs lose balance.

Leon’s hot mouth on your throat was like a painkiller compared to his teeth sunk into you, and his hand held you steady as you slowly felt the need to fall to your knees. He removed his right hand from your shoulder and wrapped it underneath your right arm, crossing over your chest to hold you steady against him, and the more you gasped and writhed at him feeding, the closer he pulled you into him.

He was groaning into your neck, his tongue swiping over the stinging wounds after he had retracted his fangs, and every time more blood pulsed out of the surface, he rocked his hips into you, and you could tell he was enjoying this in more ways than just the one. And, something you never would have believed you would get to admit, you were growing more excited with every passing second as well.

“Leon…” You whispered, unable to find strength to raise to your full voice. You clenched your eyelids shut, a burst of white filtering through the darkness. Your limbs started trembling. “Please…”

With a gasp from the man, he pulled his mouth off of your neck, the cold air stinging the once warm location. He pulled you close into his body. He was breathing heavily.

With his still low and raspy voice, he spoke again, his body twitching against yours from the rush of adrenaline. “With one taste now, I’m not sure I will ever be able to stay satiated without your blood again,” You tilted your head back, resting it on his. He held you up. “You remind me of a time when being alive meant something greater than just a state of being to me. For as long as I can…” He adjusted his head, and you felt the tip of his nose grace your jaw. It made you jump at first, afraid to feel those piercing teeth again, but he let you revel in the soft touch. “I cannot let another claim you to be theirs.”

Leon brought his left hand back upward on your body, caressing your face and directing it sideways to look at him. His eyes were burning bright with gold, and your hazy vision locked onto it like a target. 

“Tell me yes,” He whispered now, his mouth grazing yours. You were barely hanging on, the blood loss creating more of a haziness than you were expecting, but you would have been able to say this answer even if you could barely speak. You had made your mind up about this with Leon a long time ago. 

“Yes, Leon,” You breathily replied, and the grip on both of his hands intensified, capturing your body even closer to his if it was possible, and came down onto you in a heated kiss.

He held the side of your face to keep you upright, and it only made you melt further. His strong hands and arms were the sole reason you hadn't fallen to the floor by now, your mind was swimming and all of your nerves were aflame. You were barely paying any attention to the dull throbbing coming from the two pinpricks in your neck. 

Leon, you could tell immediately, was a passionate lover. He made sure to keep you close to him at all times, afraid at any moment you could run away, from him, from this archive, from this experience. You knew you could never do that, not after such a bond had already been created by letting him feed off of you. His arms were solace in this moment, and his mouth a lifesaver, ironically.

He gently bit at your lips, and when he pulled away for you to catch your breath, you could taste blood. It was your own, you knew, but some sick inner part of you loved the thrill it sent through you. You wanted more.

His mouth was back on your skin in an instant, this time by your cheek, ear, down to your jaw and neck. You flinched when he landed on the bite mark, but he only trailed over it with a light kiss, he didn’t intend on reopening them. One of your hands came down off of the cold glass, now fogged from the heat from the two of you, to wrap around his wrist. You could barely stand, and wanted to stay in his embrace, but needed to look at him.

At your touch, he slowly let you go, and when there was enough space for movement, you turned carefully, purposefully not leaving his contact.

You shuddered at the cold window on your back, but felt heat flood your senses again when you looked into his eyes. Leon loomed over you, gaze full of lust, chest heaving with having spent energy on you, but you knew he had more to give. And you had more you could take.

You grabbed the front of his shirt by the middle and pulled him closer to you. He wasted no time in coming where you had beckoned him, hand slithering around your waist to draw you in again. 

After a breath, you spoke, “I can’t… I don’t think I can stand for long,” Your eyes fluttered shut for a few seconds at a time, and you couldn’t help but to let them. 

The other hand that hadn’t worked its way around your waist trailed down your side, over the curve of your hips and thighs, and took solace underneath.

“Don’t worry about that,” It took only a second at most for him to lift you, settling himself in between your legs, back still pressed against the window. Leon’s hand was gripping your thigh, and the other was still behind you. Your own arms wrapped around his neck suddenly, and it brought you face to face with him once again. “I’ve got you. I won’t drop you.”

You sighed at his words, thankful he was now holding you, as that surely would have been the breaking point, and you would have been in a puddle on the floor by now. You let your head roll back, hitting the window with a dull thud, but any pain that might have happened due to it was nowhere to be felt, with other sensations at the forefront of your nerve system.

Leon had pressed himself against you again, the hardness of his cock through his pants pressing incessantly against your heat, he reattached his lips to your throat, nipping and sucking at the soft skin, eliciting mewls from your mouth at his touch.

Your hands explored ceaselessly along his strong arms, his biceps flexing from holding you, from the excitement coursing through his own body, and you couldn’t help but arch back into him, trying to get even closer than possibly allowed. You felt him pull away again, and you wrapped one hair through his soft blonde locks and pulled him back, connecting your lips in fervor, kissing him like your life source was dependent on you staying alive.

HIs lips were soft and hot, you were addicted to the taste. The tang of your blood mixed on his tongue danced with the shared saliva between you, and with every kiss you wished you could get even closer to him. You tugged on his hair, but it was as if he couldn’t even feel it, he was too wrapped up in you.

His tongue roamed your mouth, both soon becoming slick with spit and sweat between your bodies, and you couldn’t take the heat anymore. 

You pulled away, only by an inch but with enough space to whine out, “Leon, please,”

No more communication was needed, he understood your words. Maybe if you let it go on any longer, he would now just by whatever your body was telling him.

The arm he had around your waist snaked back to your side, and dipped down in between the two of you. Leon kissed your neck once, your head still relaxed against the window, unable to conjure the energy to move. You shivered with his touch along your thigh, the casual sweater dress you had on now becoming a good idea. You thanked your past self.

“If I continue will you let me,” He spoke into your neck, close enough to your ear for you to hear the low rumble of his voice. “I got a taste of you, but I know it won’t be enough.” His hand was already caressing the tender skin of your inner thigh, causing waves of chills and heat though your body and straight to your core. He was mere inches away from pulling aside your panties and running his fingers along your wetness, and you didn’t know if you could wait for that any longer.

“I need you Leon,” You whispered, and tried to turn your head to face him as best as you could. “I’ll let you forever.” 

He sighed, but it was closer to a growl. He thrust his hips forward, creating a delicious friction in between the two of you, and you couldn't stop the moan that escaped. Your hand was still laced in his hair, and he inhaled sharply, in pleasure rather than pain, every time you pulled hard. 

You whined out loud when he withdrew the hand that was so close to putting fingers inside of you, but you quickly quieted down when he utilized it instead to work apart the clasp of his belt and button of his pants. He had no intentions of wasting time, though this was a man that had all in the world. 

You lifted your head with the surge of energy you found at the sound of this and attempted to look down, needing to feed your eyes before he fed your pussy. He caught you before you could make the move, smashing your lips together once again, but you didn’t mind the distraction, it was a better way to pass the time rather than have your mouth empty. 

Leon wrigled himself around for a moment, attempting to pull himself out with one hand. He sighed after he accomplished this, pulling away from your mouth, but instantly was back on your neck. This time, he gave you what you wanted.

With his other hand still supporting your thigh, and showing no signs of getting tired of this action, he replaced his hand back inside your dress skirt, but skipping right over its previous position. Instead, he placed the pad of his thumb right onto the gusset of your panties, pressing with enough force to give you the friction you were desperate for. You gasped out loud, and he only continued this action to make you writhe against him.

The hand that was not tangled in his hair traveled down his chest, feeling the hard ridges of his muscles and bones, toying with the buttons of his shirt to pull them apart. When he felt your hand touch his bare chest, you could feel the muscles flex for a second. 

He decided he had had enough of the teasing, though he was the one doing it to you. He roughly pulled aside your panties, and your mouth dried up at the action. Your breath hitched, and you knew what was coming.

He pulled away from your skin for a second to look into your eyes. You could feel yourself slowly slipping away, the dizziness from the blood loss slowly fading, but that strength was whisked away instantly by the arousal pooling in every crevice of your body. Leon’s eyes were half lidded, pupils blown, mouth slightly parted. You could tell just by looking at him that he barely had anything else on his mind. Just the few sips of your elixir gave him enough energy to last the whole night, most likely.

“I’m sorry if I get rough,” You felt the vibrations of his words through his chest, which you still had one hand firmly planted on. “Everything is heightened now and…” He swiped through your clothed pussy again, making you buck your hips forward. “You are irresistible, and it’s doing something to me… That I haven’t felt in a long time.”

You said nothing, or rather, didn’t have the time to, as after he concluded speaking, his fingers breached the threshold of your panties and he slipped a finger through your wet folds, making you inhale sharply and press yourself further against him. He leaned forward, pinning you fully against himself and the window, using his teeth to gently bite at your neck again. 

He proceeded to stay buried in your neck for the next minute or so, his fingers going back and forth from teasing your entrance to applying pressure on your clit, making you whine and wiggle around in his hold. Every time you moaned breathily right next to his ear, he growled lowly.

The rain continued to pound on the window behind you, mirroring the feeling of your dripping heat, tightening around nothing as Leon continued to tease you, the feeling of his twitching head would occasionally press against you, and you desperately tried to rut forward to put it in, but he held you in place. 

Finally, when he did decide to show mercy on your state, you whined so sharply your voice cut in and out of audibility, his thick fingers stretching you in a way that felt like bliss, no matter if any pain occurred. He thumbed your clit while slowly pumping his fingers in and out of you, feeling yourself grow slicker with every stroke, the movement becoming less and less resistant as he worked you open.

Surely he was able to feel your thighs trembling in his hand, your legs twitching with the feeling of his fingers, paired with the tongue against your pulse, the non-bitten side, you were almost at the edge without anything major happening.

He pulled away, putting himself once again in front of your face, searching you for signs that he shouldn’t continue. Tears were brimming on your lower lash line, though not from pain, but from the lack of pleasure. He saw this as it was, knowing what you were feeling in this moment, knowing you needed more, needed him. 

Leon held one second of eye contact, then dipped into your mouth to kiss you chastely, and at the same time, sheathed himself inside of you. You gasped into the kiss, deepening it as you tried to thrust yourself forward to take more and more of him in. He held your hips firmly in place, not letting you take any of the control. Your fingers were tugging so harshly at his hair now, you would be surprised if you pulled away with no strands stuck between your fingers. He welcomed the sting of it though, pushing himself forward into you until he completely bottomed out, the feeling of his twitching cock in your walls made your whole body shiver, and you felt yourself pulsing around him, begging for some action to relieve your aching.

Your breath was stuck in your throat at this. The fullness you were experiencing made it difficult to inhale anything, and with Leon not only filling your insides, but still keeping his mouth connected to your neck, everything was making your head spin.

“Leon…” You breathed out, and you received a grunt in return. He pistoned his hips forward again, making you whine sharply, before pulling himself out and repeating the action. You quickly became loud.

There was nothing rough about the action. He was slow and thoughtful with every stroke, hands gripping your ass where he held you up, pushing bruises into the skin where his fingers made contact. He groaned with every other thrust, enjoying the feeling of you around him as you were of him inside of you. 

You could barely make any more noise at this point, just heavy breathing was coming from the both of you, a whine occasionally making its way out from your throat, but too many sensations were happening at once, it was all so overstimulating.

Your hands were roaming, trying to find any surface on him possible to steady yourself. You were clawing at him desperately, feeling a little sorry for the marks you were creating along his chest, but every line of pain was being pushed into his performance, and he was not relenting on his power.

“Fuck,” Leon moaned into your ear, and he took one second to collect himself before resuming his pace. You could feel how wet the both of you had become, as well as hear it. “You feel amazing…” Your head rolled back once more and thudded against the rain stricken window, but it was not loud enough to drown out the incessant squelching happening. Leon began to pick his pace up slightly, most likely your sign that he was getting close.

He thrust hard and stayed seated inside of you, making your legs tense up, and pleasure shoot throughout your entire body. Your hand had finally let go of his hair at this, squeezing with as much strength as you could muster up in your body on his thick shoulder, where you could feel every muscle as he struggled to hold you up and keep himself together.

“You’re too much for me,” He gasped into your ear, “I can’t hold on much longer,” 

You lifted your head off of the window and leaned down, he met you halfway and sealed his words with a deep kiss. Moving away from other spots on his body, your hands traveled back up and cupped both sides of his face, kissing him with passion as he tried to split focus between kissing you and fucking you.

You could feel his breath on your face as he began stuttering, and his sounds made your stomach tighten, and you clenched your walls around him, making it even harder for him to continue.

He pulled away by a mere centimeter, saliva stuck between you two in a string, the look in his eyes soft yet strong, he admired you in a way that made you forget he had seen a thousand other beautiful things in his lifetime. It made you feel like you topped the list. Sweat was beading on his forehead, it was catching the moonlight behind you, making his skin shine like silver. His eyes were blue again.

He furrowed his brow together, his hips losing its steady rhythm. “I–I can’t,” He almost whimpered, and you took pity on his state. It was arousing to see this man fall apart under you.

You tried your best to speak, voice cutting in between heavy breaths. “So don’t.” These words elicited a sob-like sound from the man in front of you. His mouth dropped open, eyelids scrunching together, letting the last of himself loose that he had been holding together barely at all. 

With broken gasps and groans, you felt Leon push himself for just a moment more, the pleasure on his face driving you right to your orgasm, and the knot inside of you came loose. Solace was found on his chest again, and your nails dug into him as you rode it out, knowing the feeling was going to push Leon over as well.

You felt it before you saw it on his face. You felt the throb of his thick cock inside of you, his hips unable to do anything steadily at this point, and he let himself go inside of you.

He was looking down between the two of you, though you were sure his eyes were closed as you were still pressed together. He groaned once, twice, and when he eventually looked up, in between his panting lips and huffs for air, you saw his shining fangs that had come out to play again.

You almost invited him to bite you again. Surely it would have allowed him to continue.

You blinked and they were gone. His facial features softened as he looked at you, your skin was on fire from the warm air settling in around you two, and your lungs wouldn’t fill efficiently enough.

He gulped, trying to wet his mouth. You were experiencing the same. “Are you alright to stand?”

You removed your hands from his chest and placed them on one of the panes of the window. “I think I will be, maybe… eventually.”

He huffed a laugh. He gently maneuvered his hands to let your feet plant back onto the ground. After being held up for so long, your knees felt like jelly. You stumbled.

He still loomed over you after you had regained your balance. He discreetly put himself away while you were busy controlling the rush of blood back to your head, and now he was keeping a watchful eye, scared, like you were fragile.

“I’m just unsteady. I won’t break.” You remarked. You pulled the hem of your dress down.

Leon smiled. It warmed you. “Of course I know that. I just…” He looked away for a moment, as if ashamed. “I drank a lot more than I should have. And then proceeded to heighten your heart rate, which was not my best course of action, but at times, I tend to get ahead of myself.” You stared at him as he talked. You felt endeared by his worries. 

“I feel fine, right now. But I was hazy. But…” You bit your lip, wondering if you should continue your train of thought. Why not, you concluded, the most intimate act was already water under the bridge. “I liked how it felt.”

You couldn’t help but smile, a slight difference to the tone of the moment, but you noticed his hair, which he hadn’t yet patted down from your fingers running wild in them. It made him look rugged, playful. Human.

“I…” Leon said nothing else for a few more seconds. You observed each other. Reveling in the events that just transpired, and exactly what this means moving forward. There was no more strictly professional relationship. You could feign it to the public, but you will always want him. He will always crave you.

He continued. “I meant what I said. I had a little too much just for a first taste, and it heightened every nerve ending in my body, you allowed me to continue, and I fear… Well, now I need to see where this takes our relations. I would like…” Another pause for humility. “I would like you to stay. Stay here, not for the building, but with me.”

You were the one to gulp this time. Even just his words had a sweeping effect like a wave, and you were desperately trying to breathe through the undertow. 

You walked forward, grabbing his shirt by the half undone buttons and pulled him into a kiss. You let the passion take over in place for the lust a few minutes prior, and you could feel the difference all over your body. You knew your answer.

You pulled away, both of you slightly dazed. You whispered into his lips, “That was already my plan.” 

The moonlight hugged you both goodnight.

[ckret2]

i know you’ve talked about bill’s music tastes before, but do you have any head cannons for other characters’ music tastes?

i.e. do you think mabel would listen to vocaloid?

Mabel: here's what we know about her tastes.

She loves Dream Boy High; Dream Boy High's VCR tape design has nods to Jem & the Holograms, which has a million songs per episodes; Mabel has Xyler & Craz play synth music to defeat Bill; Mabeland plays 80's music. She's into extremely 80's-sounding synth-heavy pop. The music she plays in dream realms is the music closest to her heart. This is the core of her musical tastes.

There's something subtly, inexplicably different about music made for cartoons vs contemporary popular music, even when they're trying to portray the same genres. I can't describe what that quality is, but it's there. Anyway, if the core of Mabel's musical tastes is rooted in or near Dream Boy High, then she probably listens to other 80s cartoon soundtracks.

She's into 2010s acts that are throwbacks to late-1990s boy bands. She'd probably also like actual 90s boy bands.

She's fluent in modern top 40 music—which is no doubt where she she picked up Sev'ral Timez. I see her as the kind of kid who just keeps the radio on all the time. (And I do mean the radio—she didn't get a phone til the end of last summer, we see her with CDs, she probably had a radio long before she tried streaming.)

She's also fluent in classic rock ballads, but it's not her preference. She's a "grew up listening to the radio stations her parents picked on a car ride" kid. I suspect her dad plays 70s/80s pop in the car (cementing her primary musical tastes) because there's another Pines into synth pop so I've decided it's genetic, and her mom plays the classic rock. Mabel knows Don't Start Unbelieving from Mabel & Mom karaoke nights.

Dipper: if Mabel grew up listening to her parents' picks on the car radio, so did he. This is where he picked up his love for BABBA. From this we can deduce that, if their dad is the 70s/80s pop music parent, their dad probably drives them around more than their mom. I think you could safely give him other disco bands as well.

He plays the sousaphone but every band kid I've ever known treats band more like a musical sport than like a musical genre—the super passionate ones might practice extra and might watch other bands' performances, but they didn't just sit around listening to marching band music for fun. However, he also practices during the summer, even though he's in another state and obviously not participating in any summer band activities, which suggests an unusual passion for marching band. I still don't think he just listens to marching band music for fun but he probably keeps hearing songs and going "oh wow I've never heard the original before, only the band version."

He picked up a couple of indie folk bands to try to impress Wendy but he's not super into them.

Ford: He was on the absolute cutting edge of new wave & synth pop in the 80s. He was into the obscure stuff. Somewhere in the shack is a pile of cassettes by new wave acts the rest of the world has completely forgotten. He and Mabel trade music recommendations: he gives her the obscure as hell stuff and she tells him about all the cool new* (*post-1982) bands he never got to see. Mabel prefers peppier songs and he prefers moodier songs but there's a HUGE overlap between their tastes.

In a better, portal-less world, Ford's taste in new wave would have had time to drift into dark wave and cold wave, and from there slid over sideways to discover goth rock. There's an unhatched trad goth somewhere in his soul. He should have been listening to Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, and The Cure. He should have gotten a black trench coat because he thought it would make him feel cool, not because he was an interdimensional criminal on the run. It's not too late for him to discover it now, but by now he should have made it miles beyond the major 80s goth rock acts, gone down half a dozen increasingly obscure genre alleys, and be burrowed deep into some weird sub-sub-sub-genre of EBM you and I have never heard of.

He has a love/hate relationship with All Star.

Stan: He liked hanging out at a 50s-themed diner in the 70s. He likes 50s music. I also think he picked up a fair amount of Spanish-language 50s rock-and-roll while abroad. Once like five years ago Soos overheard Stan playing a record and singing a song Abuelita plays and it cemented his ambition to reverse-adopt Stan as his dad.

Soos: Popular hip hop and anime/video game soundtracks. Every rap song he knows has been on the Billboard Hot 100 but on the other hand he has the demo version of the extended version of the ending theme of an anime from 2001 that was never fully released outside Japan and he's probably got a fifteen-minute story about why he knows this song even exists. He's puzzled through the shipping info of a Japanese CD website to get the official soundtrack of the most dogshit anime you could imagine. He's spent a week pouring through anime convention forums trying to track down a song he overheard someone use as their background music at a cosplay contest. Lots of 8-bit.

Wendy: You know the stomp clap hey genre? That. I have nothing further to add, you know what I'm talking about. Her heart yearns to escape to hipster city. She didn't even like Robbie's music when they were dating, she just thought it was cool he made it.

I'm not gonna go through every character I have headcanons for, you don't need all that on one post. Anyway, have a work in progress playlist. It's rigorously organized. "😀😀😀 Character Name 😀😀😀" is what each character would like listening to, "😀 Zodiac Symbol 😀" is songs about each character, "🪐🪐🪐 Flatland 🪐🪐🪐" is backstory stuff, "��� Earth 🌎" is either songs I need on this playlist for the vibes or songs that belong in one of the other categories but I haven't sorted them yet. Some of the sections are still empty. I think this is forgivable since the playlist is already 11 hours long.

[httplilyyy]

𝐆𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄 || 𝐋𝐄𝐍𝐀 𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐅

pairing: lena oberdorf x reader

summary: media day consisting of making a gingerbread house with your girlfriend

warnings: nothing but fluff, established relationship

words: 1225

a/n: a little gift from me for the writer’s challenge. check out @coastlw6’s fic that was posted earlier as well as @nytb’s fic coming out soon!

woso masterlist it’s the most wonderful time of the year

It was media day once again and today you had been partnered up with your teammate who so happens to be your girlfriend. Lena Oberdorf.

The two of you were dressed in ridiculous costumes, you dressed up as a christmas tree whereas Lena was a snowman.

The two of you were sitting at a table, an abundance of items scattered on top of it which were needed for the video.

The camera crew were doing their last minute checks and before you knew it, you were given a thumbs up, signalling that the cameras were recording.

“Hello.” You smiled, looking between Lena and the camera. “I’m y/n y/l/n.”

“I’m Lena Oberdorf.” Lena said, giving a little wave.

“As you can see, today is going to be Christmas themed.” You said, gesturing to what you and Lena were wearing. “The two of us will be competing for who can make the best gingerbread house in the time we are given.”

“And it is obvious that I am going to win.” Lena smirked, looking at you with a determined glint in her eye.

“Underestimate me. That’ll be fun,” you chuckled, “ready to lose, Lena?”

“Not gonna happen, y/l/n.”

“Oh, we're on last name basis now? I see how it is.”

You suggested a countdown and someone from the camera crew started from three but before they finished the word, the both of you were already getting your things to make the gingerbread house.

You began with the foundations, using the icing as cement to hold pieces of gingerbread together to make a square. The roof was a little trickier, dropping the icing bag to the table as you held the piece of gingerbread, securing the roof in place.

What you didn't notice, too entranced with making your gingerbread house, was that Lena had seemingly forgotten about hers for a moment in time.

The midfielder couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from you. She watched every move you made, how your tongue would stick out the corner of your mouth in concentration, going from how your arm flexed as you squeezed the icing bag to the way your veins crawled from your hand up to your arm.

Once you were happy with your gingerbread house, it was finally time to decorate it but not before squeezing the bag of icing straight into your mouth.

Hearing a chuckle from beside you, you turned to look at your girlfriend. Raising an eyebrow in question you wondered what she was laughing at.

“What?” You questioned, your voice coming out muffled due to the icing in your mouth.

“Nothing.” Lena smiled, shaking her head as she let out a soft laugh.

Still not quite believing her, you shrugged your shoulders and were about to go back to decorating when Lena took a hold of each side of your face. Lena used the pad of her thumb and brushed it along your lip, clearing away the icing that was there.

As she pulled away she kept her eyes locked with yours, licking the icing off her thumb and smiling to herself at your reaction. You couldn't help the blush that creeped up the back of your neck to the tips of your ears.

You let out a jumble of words that couldn't be understood by anyone as you went back to your gingerbread house.

Trying to be fancy, you created an intricate pattern on the roof with icing and stuck some jelly tots in different places that you thought seemed to fit.

After you thought you were done you spotted some sprinkles out of the corner of your eye. With a child-like grin taking place on your face you reached for them and you were quick to empty all its contents over your house, completely making a mess.

Finally being happy with your finished product you waited for Lena to finish up her house, completely entranced by her beauty, it was as if she was sculpted by the gods themselves.

You felt like the luckiest person on the planet, watching your girlfriend be effortlessly beautiful with whatever she was doing, managing to make anything look perfect.

You completely forgot about the cameras around you, your sole focus on your girlfriend. You let a small smile take over your features as you looked down at your lap, not quite believing Lena was actually yours.

“You are awfully quiet over there,” Lena stated, not looking away from her gingerbread house, “what's going on?”

“Nothing,” you replied, “just waiting for you to finish.”

“I’m nearly done.” Lena said.

“Take your time.” You smiled.

After eating an array of different sweets that were littered all over the table, Lena had finally finished. She looked up from her gingerbread house and at you with a grin plastered on her face.

“Finished?” You asked, smiling at your girlfriend's action.

“Yeah.” Lena nodded.

“Turn them around in three?” You suggested, gesturing to your gingerbread houses.

“Three, two, one..” Lena counted and when she said one the two of you turned your houses around to show each other.

You had a very simplistic design with a little artistic flare from what seemed to be a three year old due to the sprinkles everywhere, whereas Lena had gone all out. No wonder she spent a long time on it.

Your gingerbread house was severely outdone by Lena and you couldn't help but let out a small chuckle at your childish design.

“I think we know who the winner is here.” You smiled, gesturing to your girlfriend's gingerbread house.

“Really?” Lena questioned, fighting back a huge grin.

“Yeah.” You said softly, looking at her with nothing but pure love and affection.

Lena let out a triumphant yell and did a little dance in her seat, gaining a chuckle from you. After Lena finished her little dance, you placed your hand underneath her chair and pulled her closer towards you.

The midfielder squealing at the action, nearly falling into your arms. Lena looked up at you and was about to say something when you placed your forefinger and thumb on her chin, tilting her head to place a kiss on her lips.

You pulled away, your lips ghosting hers as the corners of your lips curved upwards, leaning your foreheads together.

“Well done.” You whispered, pulling away, reminding yourself you are still being recorded.

“Danke.” Lena replied.

“Want some icing?” You asked, holding up the bag of icing you used.

“Sure.” Lena shrugged.

“Open up.” You said, placing your thumb on her bottom lip, parting them before taking a hold of Lenas cheek and tilting her head back. You used your other hand and squeezed some icing into her mouth.

Lena was quick to let a blush take over her features, her face burning at the thoughts that fogged her mind.

You placed a quick kiss to her cheek and let Lena recompose herself before the two of you said the outro to the video.

After everything finished you couldn't help the chuckle that escaped your lips at the look on Lenas face.

She didn’t say anything, grabbing your wrist and dragging you away from everyone and into your car. You smirked to yourself knowing what was coming when the two of you got home.

And you couldn't wait, perhaps you’d have to buy some icing for home.

[stevessunglasses]

when in doubt, always blame a man

note: this was supposed to be posted ages ago, but i couldn't figure out how to write the morning after. i still don't know how, so have this as is lmao. it’s a fun meet ugly.

this comes from the prompt: you got drunk, knocked on my door at 4a, obnoxiously flirted with me and then vomited all over my feet, now it’s the next day and you’re hungover and don’t remember anything and my firm belief that steve can only flirt when drunk.

word count: 2k

warnings: second hand embarrassment, vomit

It was rare that you got a full night's sleep in your apartment complex. Something or someone always managed to wake you up. It could be your neighbors arguing, a too loud radio, police sirens, your cat stepping on your stomach; anything, but always something. For the past two weeks however, you’d been blessed with undisturbed sleep. You had forgotten how wonderful it felt to be well rested. Every day seemed so much lighter, and easier, and you felt so much more productive. You were caught up on chores, with no piles of laundry or dishes, and had been acing your classes with no need for all nighters, and even had time to hang out with your friends a couple of times a week. It was the best you’d felt in months. 

So when you woke up at 3:37 a.m. to someone pounding on your door, you were rightfully pissed. 

You groaned, turning over and pulling your pillow over your head in a desperate attempt to ignore them. The pounding continued for a moment, before stopping. You sighed, and settled deeper into your bed, ready to drift back to sleep, when - 

“Robin!” 

Ugh. At this point, if you didn’t get rid of them, your neighbors were going to blame you.

“Robbieeeeeeeeee!”

You threw off your blankets, rolled out of bed, and contemplated getting dressed before deciding against it. you were wearing a shirt that, While not workplace appropriate with a slogan of WHEN IN DOUBT, ALWAYS BLAME A MAN, fell to mid thigh and boxer style panties. If someone was going to drunkenly wake you up this late, they got you in your truest form. 

You didn’t turn on any lights, instead walking down the short hallway to your front door with your arms outstretched like a zombie. At one point, you tripped over your cat, resulting in angry hissing, swearing, and a mumbled apology. 

“Robinnnnnnnnnnnn!”

Rolling your eyes at whoever was in the hall, you swung your door open, completely ready to rip them apart for waking you up, only for your wrath to get stuck in your throat.

The drunken stranger was hot.

He was tall, with thick brown hair somehow styled and messy at the same time, with a pair of aviators resting on the top of his head. His white button up was open to the middle of his chest, showing off a silver chain and equally thick chest hair. A brown leather jacket, black jeans rolled at the ankle, and white nikes completed the look, but you didn’t care about that. You were far more focused on his square jaw, pretty lips, and kissable moles.

“You’re not robin,” the drunken stranger slurred, causing you to make some terrible noise that was somewhere between a scoff and a laugh. “You’re like, way hotter than robin.”

You watched his red rimmed hazel eyes trail up your bare legs, and a surprising sense of confidence settled over him. You were wearing a shirt that came down to mid thigh, but the look he was giving you made you feel like you were wearing something far more scandalous. He straightened from his slouch and a smirk pulled at his pretty lips. An arm came up to lean against the door frame, showcasing his already impressive biceps, and allowing a bigger gap in his shirt to see his chest.

“Honey, you can blame me for whatever you want, whenever you want,” he said. “I mean, goddamn, I was already having a good night, but you just made it a million times better. I must've been a saint in another life to get to meet you, sweetheart.”

“Alright, casanova,” you laughed. “I'm glad you’re having fun, but Robin’s not here, so time to go, okay?”

“Who cares?” the man said, pushing away from the door frame to instead lean against it with his shoulder, crossing his arms in front of his chest. his biceps seemed even bigger like that, making you unconsciously lick your lips. “I just met an angel.”

“Says the saint,” you said, unable to help grinning at the cocky man in front of you.

“Or a sinner in need of saving,” he offered with a shrug. “Whatever I am, I'll happily worship you. The only heaven I'll be sent to is when I'm alone with you.”

His tongue slowly traced along his bottom lip, making you flush from head to toe. How were you supposed to respond to that? His hazel eyes remained steady on yours, and you found it impossible to look away. 

“I'll worship like a dog at the shrine of your lies,” he whispered, voice rough and husky. “I'll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife. Offer me that deathless death, good god, let me give you my life.”

You blinked, shaking your head slightly to clear the fog of his spell. “Wait. Are you quoting Hozier?”

The man blanched and his eyes widened. “No?”

“Oh my god, you totally are! Take Me to Church. My lover’s got humor; she’s the giggle at a funeral,” your voice was terribly off pitch, but you didn’t care in the slightest. You were having too much fun watching the man cringe. “Knows everybody’s disapproval, I should’ve worshiped her sooner. Who doesn’t know it?”

“Okay, wait-” he said, straightening away from the frame and swaying slightly. He looked unsteady on his feet again, but you weren’t paying attention. 

“Have you used that before?” you laughed. “There’s no way it worked.”

“It’s romantic,” he complained, rubbing the heel of his hand against his eye.

“I mean, yeah, he is, but why would you use such well known lyrics? Why not do something like make your good love known to me or just tell me about your day or even honey, just put your sweet lips on my lips, we should just kiss like real people do.”

“I was going off worshiping you but kissing will do. Here, shut the door. Lemme try again.”

You giggled at that, lifting a hand to cover your mouth to try and quiet the noise. The man grinned, thrilled at being able to make you laugh but it turned into a pit when your giggles settled and you shook your head at him.

“No,” you said, still softly smiling. “It’s late. You’re drunk. You need to go home!”

“I just met my soulmate, and you want me to go home?! Take mercy on my poor, drunk soul and give me your name and number at least,” he said as he dramatically slapped a hand to his heart.

“You won’t even remember me in the morning,” you shook your head affectionately. 

The man threw his head back and scoffed. “I totally will! I haven’t blacked out in years.”

“Then tonight’s the night.”

“Nope. You’ll be ingrained in my memory, honey.”

He leaned forward again, stumbling slightly with the momentum of his movement. You reached out to catch him, but he waved off, instead pointing a finger in your face. His hazel eyes caught yours and froze you in place and time, and you were certain that even if he woke up tomorrow with no recollection of you, this man and this night would be seared into your mind.

“I was gonna quote more Hozier to you but that was the only song I know.”

“You’re ridiculous,” you said, unable to stop smiling.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered.

He was still leaning so close that part of you felt that you could feel his breath across your cheeks. You watched as his gaze flicked from your eyes to your lips again and again. Your heart was racing, racing, racing and god, please don’t let this be a dream. He stepped closer, lifting his hand to rest on your face, his thumb caressing the apple of your cheek. His eyes flicked back and forth again, waiting for your permission before he began to slowly lean forward as your eyelids drifted closed.

A hand on your waist shoved you to the side, as a body suddenly pitched forward with a terrible sound. You watched in complete shock as the stranger vomited an endless stream all over the carpet. 

Oh, this was a nightmare. 

The man groaned, waking you from your stunned state. You quickly grabbed his elbow, carefully guiding him inside and to sit on your couch. He immediately tilted to the side, laying down with his arms wrapped around his stomach. Keeping an eye on him over your shoulder, you hurried to your little kitchenette to grab a piece of tupperware. The man had started to hitch forward just as you made it back to him. 

“Here,” you said, shoving the tupperware into his hands. He took it, but was unable to say thank you as he opened his mouth. 

Total. Fucking. Nightmare. 

A while later, you had cleaned up and were now turning the couch into a bed as the man brushed his teeth in the bathroom. He had argued at first, embarrassed and far more sober than he had been before, but you ignored him. Maybe letting a stranger stay the night wasn’t the smartest choice, but you knew you’d feel terrible if you let him leave sick and drunk with no one to take care of him. You hadn’t told him that though, still annoyed with the circumstances that had gotten you here, and instead banished him to the bathroom to clean up. 

You’d just put down the last pillow when the man returned. “Thank you for all this,” he said. 

“No problem,” you replied, giving him a quick smile, but your eyes widened as you took him in. He had taken off his jacket and shoes, and his shirt was now completely unbuttoned, showcasing his chest in all its glory. His hair was disheveled and damp, like he had run wet hands through it and his pants sat low on his hips. He looked completely ravished, and for a moment you could only stare as you imagined other ways for him to have gotten there. 

“I was gonna call my friend, but uh, my phone’s dead, so…”

“You can borrow my charger,” you said, shaking yourself free from your reverie. “I’ll grab it. Artie is probably hiding in my room right now, so sorry if she wakes you up later?”

“Artie?” he asked.

“My cat,” you explained. “She pretends to be shy, but then goes totally feral, so you might feel some love bites in the night.”

“As long as I can give them back to you,” he said with an easy grin. 

“From Artie,” you rolled your eyes and tossed him a pillow. “I’m headed to bed. There’s water and Ibuprofen on the coffee table for when you wake up if I’m not up before you. More blankets are in that closet if you get cold.”

“Thank you,” he said. “I know I said that already, but I mean it. You really didn’t have to do all this.”

“Yeah, well,” you shrugged. “Not every night a drunk stranger wakes you up to flirt and then puke.”

The man cringed and rubbed the back of his neck. “Any chance we can forget about that part?”

“Never,” you laughed. He chuckled at that, making you grin. 

“You sure I can’t just start over?” he asked.

“How’re you gonna do that?”

He rolled his neck and straightened, putting on a persona of easy confidence. He still looked partly disheveled with his clothes and his hair, but in that moment it hit you that maybe it was safer for you to have met this man when he was drunk and messy, because if you met him like this persona, sober, confident, and with that teasing smile on his face, you would have fallen in love in a heartbeat.

Instead, you were just confusingly turned on.

“Hey there, I’m Steve,” he said. He held out a hand for you to shake which you did so with a giggle. “Sorry for kinda crashing the party but I just had to introduce myself.”

“By picking an apartment at random?” you teased.

He snapped his fingers, giving you double finger guns and a wink. “You get it!”

“Go to sleep, you dork,” you laughed, walking past him to your room.

“I’ll dream about you!”

[bts-story]

LOVE IS CHAOS

masterlist

{NOTE: THIS IS A NON-BTS STORY}

A/N: Hello everyone, I'm letting myself post a non-bts story related. I have been recently o b s e s s e d with Niragi Suguru and I just had to write something about him because I deserve it

Chapter One - The beginning

PREVIEW

Game starts in fifteen minutes. Please register in the lobby.

"A game?" you asked curiously, as you adjusted your top over your shoulders.

Niragi didn't take the time to answer but took a second drag on his cigarette instead. It was true that since everyone had disappeared a few hours before, you hadn't really cared as much as you should have. Well, as anyone with any sense whatsoever or a little common sense would have done. An opportunity like this to play the delinquent with no repercussions seemed so attractive that it didn't even occur to you to think about the problem in front of you.

The problem was: where was everybody? And why were there only two of you left?

The sun was shining so brightly that you regretted having forgotten your glasses. They would have been a great help to you to sneak through this mass of people without getting the sun's reflection in your eyes at every step. 

Condensation from the two fresh bubble teas was running down your hands and you hoped Niragi wouldn't complain about it. It was far too hot to take a remark. "Took you long enough..." Niragi's voice was still annoyed, but you completely ignored his casual tone to hand him his cold drink. He had found a place on a bench in the sun, and you wondered why he hadn't chosen to take shelter in the shade. Maybe all the other benches were already occupied. 

"It's the middle of August, did you expect the store to be deserted?" You answered anyway with a smile, sipping your drink for the first time. The cool liquid quickly flowed down your throat as you took your seat next to Niragi, and it was a sensation you welcomed with a sigh of contentment. 

It seemed that the sun was bothering Niragi as well because he kept squinting, trying to hide from it with the reverb of his hand. "Damn, it's hot." he complained loudly, and you closed your eyes for a second, trying to ignore his remark. 

Niragi was a person who complained a lot, it was true. Only, today, it seemed that he had decided to do it even more. Since waking up this morning, everything seemed to irritate or annoy him and it was necessary to make a thousand and one efforts not to irritate him more. The heat could be the cause of his annoyance, or maybe it was his work that was taking him more and more. Maybe it was his sister asking him for money again, or maybe it was just the washing machine and the dishwasher that broke down exactly two days apart. 

Shibuya Station was bustling with people, as always. Some people were having fun, others were hurrying so as not to miss their train. In the middle of the crowd, you could see a few teenagers bickering, and in the distance, the screeching sound of car tires followed by a crash. 

"Shit, look," you pointed to the sky suddenly. In the distance, between several buildings, you could see the wild colors of a fireworks display. 

Niragi followed your gaze, and muttered in incomprehension, "What the hell are they doing setting off fireworks in the middle of the day?" 

You had absolutely no answer for him, however it seemed to have caught everyone's attention here. Glances were pointed, phones were raised, and all of a sudden, it seemed like the world had stopped.

You blinked a few times as you saw the sky rip into a million colors and it was strange because you didn't even hear the sound of the lights going off. Clearing your throat, you looked around for the first time. And... it was strange because you expected to still see the anthill of the station, except that where hundreds of people were a moment ago, there was no one left. 

"Niragi..." you asked, tapping his shoulder to get his attention. 

Niragi's eyes also snapped up from the sky, and he was stunned by what he saw. Just like you, he discovered that there was not a single person around you anymore. Not a single living soul and not a single sound. There was now a breeze hitting your face and strangely enough, it sent a shiver down your back. It was almost cold, or maybe it was just the new feeling of incomprehension creeping up on you. 

"Where is everyone?" Niragi questioned calmly as he got up from the bench to try and get a better view of the entire Shibuya station. But he had to come to terms with the fact that there was indeed no one left here. 

It was just the two of you. 

"Hello?" you suddenly shouted, admiring the place with a stunned look. You also stood up and couldn't help but think that the city looked strange. But of course no one answered and when you turned your head to Niragi, there was that expression on his face that you knew all too well. 

With his eyebrows furrowed and his head cocked slightly to the side, he was just as stunned as you were. "What the hell is this crap?" he croaked in a breath and continued to look around as if by some miracle someone would appear in the distance. 

A million questions were colliding against each other in your head, but none of them had an answer. It was a complex puzzle, and you asked, "Do you think we should be looking for someone? It can't be just the two of us, it can't be..." 

It was a very unlikely scenario in your eyes, but the city was so vast and huge that even if someone else had ended up here, it seemed impossible to find anyone. 

Niragi didn't take the time to answer your question, but suddenly a smile appeared on his face, and you wondered what was wrong with him. "See that over there?" he pointed straight ahead and you had to think for a moment before you came across what he was pointing at. 

On the walls of the station, there were several tags. Tags that weren't there a few minutes ago, you could have sworn. You passed through this station every day on your way to work and if they were there before, you would have noticed them very quickly. What was more intriguing was what was written there.

There, in dripping red paint, shone, ‘We are all going to die. There's no way out.’

You wondered who was the nutcase who could have written that, and more importantly, how he did it in front of the cops who occupied the square 24/7. Perhaps the most disconcerting part of it all was Niragi's smile, which you couldn't explain at all. 

Before you even asked him, he explained, "I guess we're not really in Tokyo anymore, princess." He nodded a little higher than the tags and for the first time, you actually saw what was going on around you. Many of the windows in the buildings around had broken or shattered glass, others, higher up in the floors, sported cardboard and other sheets as if to filter the light. There were millions of other tags, papers were flying everywhere and vegetation seemed to be starting to break through the tar. 

Niragi was right. It was the same city, the same buildings, the same streetlights and the same crosswalks. But it was no longer the Tokyo you knew so well. It was a completely different city. Equivalent, twin, mirror, whatever. It was another world. 

"You know what this makes me want to do?" Niragi asked, her smile brighter than ever. And without waiting for an answer from you, he took your hand in his and pulled your arm to follow him, forgetting about your two iced teas on the station bench. He was heading towards Koen Dori Street, and he couldn't stop running, which was pulling your arm unpleasantly. He let go of you after a few seconds when he decided that you would follow him as he wanted. 

After only a few minutes, he stopped in front of the Kishiuchi Shopping Center. You rarely went there because it was where all the expensive stores and restaurants were. Niragi had taken you there once, for your one year anniversary, and you still remembered the look on his face when he saw the bill. It was a memory that might have made you smile if you didn't wonder what Niragi wanted to be able to do here. 

"Didn't you ever tell me you wanted a Hermes bag?" he finally asked, the smile still on his face and there it was, the reason he wanted to come here. He wanted to rob the stores and vandalize the luxury brands that he always considered too snobby and pretentious. 

This provoked a laugh on your lips. Niragi always had the right ideas, well, mostly ideas of his own. He always thought he was taking advantage of you, while you always thought he was right. That was the key to your relationship, you often thought. Complementary. 

"All in all, I'd rather have a Chanel bag," you said with your head held high and a hint of weariness in your voice, as if to imitate all those rich bimbos who lived with an inordinate amount of money. This provoked a laugh from Niragi that you admired for only a second as he dragged you a second time.

The doors to the center were open and it looked like no one had the same idea as you. That is, if there was anyone in this town. Each store seemed untouched, each garment always delicately placed on the plastic mannequins. So the first store on the right was Chanel, and a hundred bags, each one shinier than the next, stood before you, proud and new. "Go ahead, princess, you can have any you want. It's on me." Niragi chuckled and you walked over to a first beige bag, medium-sized with a big H standing up as a handle on the front. You pointed at it, looking for Niragi with your eyes. He answered you with a grimace, nodding his head from left to right. You pointed to a second bag, pastel pink this time, which would go beautifully with your favorite red shoes. 

A second time, Niragi nodded. You sighed quickly, wondering if it was your choice or his. Then finally, at the back of the store, your eyes fell on a gray-blue leather and shoulder bag, with a gold chain to put along the shoulder. It was beautiful and without even asking Niragi, you tried it on. It was perfect. 

"¥600,000, my love." you sighed as you looked at the rack inside the bag. "We'll have to sell your Rolex." 

Niragi shook his head from left to right, hands on his hips. "Shit, that was my birthday present..." 

Your eyes met and all of a sudden, without being able to hold on for another second, you both started laughing so hard that it made your stomach hurt for a while. 

And so it went on for several hours. You went around the stores, searching, throwing away, robbing every square inch of all that luxury. It was carnage, but you didn't care. It was a moment of happiness, sharing and laughter and Niragi looked so ridiculous in his Lacoste outfit that you had to leave the store to catch your breath. 

Then you couldn't help but go to the famous Victoria's Secret store. You'd already pestered enough magazines or stumbled upon enough pictures on the net to know what it was all about, and according to you, anyone was stupid to say they wouldn't dream of lingerie like that. 

"I feel like playing a game," you chuckled at one point, leading Niragi to sit on one of the sofas that faced the fitting rooms. Niragi had only a vague idea of what you were up to, and he didn't really like being dragged into situations where he wasn't in control, but he felt that just this once, he would let it go. 

Grabbing not one but two different outfits in your path, you pulled back the curtain of the fitting room. It wasn't long to take off the shorts and top you were wearing, the heavy August heat would thank you for it, and by the time the pink outfit adored your body, you knew Niragi would lose his mind. You adjusted your chest in front of the long mirror, checked that your buttocks were bulging like you wanted them to and pulled the curtain a second time, this time for Niragi's eyes.

His eyes were fixed on the ceiling, a false look of annoyance on his face, until his attention was drawn to the sight of your body. To him, it was like fireworks. Your skin shone under the dim lights of the sunset that shone through the windows, your hair cascaded down your back and damn, those two pretty breasts that he liked so much to nibble, touch, caress stood proud and straight in front of him. The little skirt that barely hid your ass was flying with the movement of your fingers and the way you were biting your lips would have been enough to give him a heart attack. 

"What are you going to do with me?" He sighed with defeat, as if suddenly he had given up all the authority and strength he had spent so many years building. 

A mischievous smile appeared on your face, your eyes black with envy. You could very distinctly make out the bulge of his penis hardening against his black jeans, and it didn't take much to hold back that moan from the tip of your lips. "I bet you won't even make it to the second outfit." 

"You're playing a dangerous game, princess, just know it." 

Oh yes, you knew that very well. Truth be told, it was exactly what you expected. All the delinquency and havoc done in all those stores had awakened a heat in you that was asking, praying to be ruined, worn out, tortured. It was a funny feeling that you had learned to accept and deal with over the years. 

Then licking your lips in a way as sensual as erotic, you closed the curtain again and changed clothes. This time, the black and transparent bodysuit covered the bikini area and the breasts, all connected by a thick leather fabric and right there, with that collar around the neck, you knew that Niragi would definitely lose his mind. 

And you had barely pulled back the curtain once more, when Niragi had already stood up, and crushed his lips to yours. He captured your tongue, biting your lips as he pushed you against the wall of the dressing room. It was very hard to hold that smile on your lips, because you were right, you knew he wouldn't resist for long, and it looked like Niragi wanted to make you pay, somehow. 

He didn't like to lose. He was a mediocre loser, and every time you tried to play with his feelings, or his hormones, it resulted in a well-deserved lesson. Spankings, slaps, bites, scratches, everything you could imagine, he made you suffer. And it was an evil so good you couldn't see it as a sin. 

"Are you enjoying playing with me?" he growled through his teeth, tugging at the tips of your hair. He encircled a hand around your neck, squeezing hard enough that you could feel your breath grow heavy in your throat. He had you turned around, your back against his chest and it was hard to ignore his erection. You could see your reflection in the dusty mirror, and Niragi's eyes were so black and dark that you longed for what he was about to do to you.

He pressed you against the wall, his head pressed against the cold wall of the store so that you could see everything he was doing in the mirror. 

You hadn't seen or heard him undo the waistband of his pants, let alone pull out his penis until you felt it tattoo against your lips. That was how he had decided to punish you. Raw and (almost) dry. You obviously already had your pussy throbbing with desire, you could have sworn it was even tasting, but the feel of Niragi's hard, long cock forcing its way inside was enough to make you scream in a mixture of pain and pleasure. 

"This is what you wanted, right?" he whispered into your ear, one hand still clamped around your throat, the other gripping your hips for a little more stability. He pounded you with his hips, each one stronger and more powerful than the other. "You wanted me to fuck you like the little bitch you are, right?" He growled ungodly insults that made your head spin, and you couldn't answer because every word, every sound got stuck in your throat as soon as you tried to speak. 

He tightened his grip around your neck and you knew he was waiting for an answer. He was demanding an answer. "Yes... yes, damn it, Niragi, please..." 

"What? What do you want?" he growled in your ear and his breath was so hot and his every movement so sudden that you knew neither of you would last very long. It was one of those moments, a quick fuck that felt good, just to release some of the tension of the day. 

"I beg you, make me cum, please, please..." you knew how pathetic you looked begging him like that, but what turned you on even more was that every word you said, and every move you made, drove Niragi completely crazy. Submitting to his wants and needs, like a common toy, was your way of proving to him that you were his and only for the next few millennia, and that you wouldn't change your place for anything in the world. 

"Do you think you deserve it, princess?" Obviously, he was playing with your nerves, just as you had done with him a few minutes earlier. He wasn't too far from his own orgasm anymore, but he was pulling for as many seconds as he could only to prove to you how wrong it was to do what you had done. Of course, it was a little ambiguous. He loved it when you did that to him, because he loved punishing you in any way he wanted. He knew you loved it too. 

"Yes... yes, please..." Niragi untied his hand from your neck and moved it to your clit to rub where he knew it would make you cum. He hadn't particularly decided that you deserved it, but he would have to admit that his own orgasm didn't feel the same if he couldn't feel your walls closing in on him. 

So within seconds of each other, you both straddled that orgasm that caused your legs to shake and your throat to profane several insults that competed with those Niragi was spitting out as well.

"Shit..." He continued as he caught his breath, his chest glistening with sweat. He didn't even wait before pulling out and his seed fell to the floor, also down your legs. This provoked a groan from you as you collapsed along the wall, your breathing equally shaky. Niragi pulled up his boxers and unbuttoned his jeans as you lay on the floor and against the wall, that lingerie set still intact on your body. 

With a dry throat and sweaty body, you struggled to your feet to pick up your things and change in silence. Niragi had already left the cabin, and you might have wondered where he had decided to go if you weren't used to this kind of behavior. He had never been the type to cuddle after sex, let alone after a quick fuck. He liked to smoke a cigarette, that was for sure. 

And soon, the smell of nicotine and tobacco smoke spread quickly around you. It was a smell that suited Niragi, even if you hated the taste it had against your tongue when he kissed you. "Hey," he called over his shoulder, and he dragged the cigarette across the tip of his lips, pulling on the joint, breathing in the smoke. As you buttoned your jeans, he continued, "come here and look." 

You joined him, standing in front of the window, and squinted at what you could see several feet away. The sun had been down for a few minutes already, it was dark all around but a blinding white light was shining through the store windows. On the building opposite, a giant screen displayed in proud letters this message: 

Game starts in fifteen minutes. Please register in the lobby. 

"A game?" you asked curiously, as you adjusted your top over your shoulders. 

Niragi didn't take the time to answer but took a second drag on his cigarette instead. It was true that since everyone had disappeared a few hours before, you hadn't really cared as much as you should have. Well, as anyone with any relationship skills and a little common sense would have done. An opportunity like this to play the delinquent with no repercussions seemed so attractive that it didn't even occur to you to think about the problem in front of you. 

The problem was: where was everybody? And why were there only two of you left?

Chapter two - Seven of diamonds

//////

Just a note, do you see in movies where they shoot a scene without cuts? Like in one go? Yeah, I'm trying to write this story like this, with no time-lapse whatsoever just to enjoy every single bit of Niragi

Reblogs, comments and likes are much appreciated

[tywrites]

not your babe | the lost boys [marko x reader]

a/n: hi! this is my first time actually writing in around 9 months? so i apologise if it’s bad :’) it’s also my first time writing for the lost boys! i just can’t get this man out of my head >.< i found marko pretty difficult to characterise so i apologise if he’s ooc <3 as always feedback is super appreciated!

summary: you get stood and marko wants to make you feel better :( inspired by this post by @kurt-nightcrawler​

pairing: marko x gn!reader (i’m pretty sure i didn’t use any gender terms-)

word count: 2.2k

warnings: cheating :0, i think that’s it? maybe ooc marko

---

A sigh fell from your lips. The bright lights from the boardwalk shimmered around you, taunting you. Intoxicated whoops and screams of laughter echoed and swirled through the air. Your arms were comfortingly wrapped around your body despite the warm summer night. Gazing longingly at the people around you having such a good time caused your heart to ache. As much as you wished to join in with the festivities, there was a heavy bitterness lying inside you.

Your boyfriend wasn’t the most punctual person in Santa Carla, but standing you up completely was new. After waiting for nearly 2 hours, you were close to giving up and going on home, maybe drowning your sorrows in a bottle of wine and shitty late night TV. You glanced at your watch once more, the neon numbers only succeeding in making you feel worse. I mean, really? What kind of person leaves their partner waiting for this long? Had he forgotten or could he just not be bothered to drag his sorry ass here tonight? You’d only been dating for about a month, but you really couldn’t believe that you meant so little to him.

You surveyed the boardwalk, taking notice of all the familiar faces. You were a regular there, having lived in Santa Carla for pretty much your whole life. It may be dangerous, but it was home. In the distance, you could make out a gang of Surf Nazis messing around with Big Ed, the boardwalk’s night guard, as per usual. Clumps of people were scattered around, chatting at the top of their lungs; drunks and junkies wobbling their way around the stalls. The boardwalk was particularly crowded tonight, probably due to the weekend; but there was no sight of him. Biting your lip, you decided that enough was enough and began to gather your things ready to leave. It was particularly frustrating since you’d put so much effort into your appearance tonight. But whatever, dude didn’t deserve to see you looking so good if he couldn’t even be bothered to show up.

A sudden cacophony of motorcycle engines broke you from your thoughts. You dropped your bag back onto the bench and whipped around, hoping to see your boyfriend. He was never seen without his bike. Instead, you were met with a gang of boys who you were all too familiar with. Clad in leather and showing a tasteful amount of skin, they were definitely a hard bunch to miss.

A few of them frequented the record shop you worked night shifts at, usually the two blonds (the natural ones anyway...) They’d always been sweet to you, despite their reputation – even going as far as to chase away some guys who’d been harassing you one time. That happened all too often around here so you really did appreciate the gesture. Those guys never entered the store again. You understood why people found them intimidating, but to you, they were really fun to be around. Always laughing and joking around in the store, and more often than not, flirting too. Especially Marko. You’d found yourself drawn to the wild guy in a way you’d never been before. His fashion sense, his humour, the way he always made a point of making conversation with you whenever he’d come in. You kinda had it bad for him. Maybe he flirted a bit too much for your taste considering he knew you were taken, but he was funny and definitely easy on the eyes. Your boyfriend really didn’t approve of your friendship, he always seemed to pull you away the moment you started getting too close for comfort. The two guys really didn’t get along.

You struggled to tear your eyes away from Marko as he and his friends parked on the side of the boardwalk. They bantered good-naturedly, giggling with each other as they dismounted their bikes. The girl and kid that always hung around with them hopped off the bikes and wandered into the fairground, the rest of them speaking for a moment before Marko turned and headed into the crowd with Paul. They strutted around for a bit, looking around the area before Marko looked in your direction. You quickly averted your eyes, the ground suddenly becoming very interesting. He brought Paul in for a moment to whisper in his ear. When he pulled away, a large suggestive grin was plastered on Paul’s face and he clapped Marko’s back as if wishing him luck before continuing on. Marko rolled his eyes at his friend’s antics while heading over to you.

“Hey there babe,”

“Not your babe,” you reminded him, looking up to meet those mischievous blue eyes you’d grown so familiar with.

He smirked as he advanced towards you, looking at you intently. He was pretty close now, standing in front of the small bench you were sitting on. He bounced on the heels of his feet as he glanced around, gently nibbling on the skin of his thumb. Cute. “So… Where’s your little boyfriend?” He asked, quirking a brow.

You looked down, shuffling your feet. God, this was humiliating. “He, uh...”

“Didn’t show?”

You let out a short, half-hearted laugh. “That obvious, huh? Yeah, you got it right,”

“Asshole. Clearly doesn’t know what he’s missing. You look really fucking good tonight.” He grinned when he noticed the blush that rose to your face at that. You realised that you were genuinely smiling for the first time tonight. “So since he’s not here… you’re free tonight, right?”

“I mean, technically. But I was honestly just planning on heading home, not really in the best mood y’know? Wouldn’t wanna bring the vibe down,” you replied, fidgeting with the strap of your bag.

“Aw c’mon!” He took your hands in his, the leather of his gloves sliding against your soft skin. “The night’s still young, don’t let that tiny dick asshole ruin it for you,”

You couldn’t help but laugh at that, your laugh only making Marko smile wider. God, your laugh did things to him. You knew this might be a bad idea. You were still taken. But right now, you couldn’t bring yourself to care. He was the one who fucked up, why should your night be ruined because of him? You mulled it over for a moment before replying.

“Fuck it. Why not?”

“Then let’s bounce, babe.”

–

Your arms were wound tightly around Marko’s torso, gently tracing patterns onto the bare skin of his stomach exposed by his crop top. The firm denim of his jacket was rough against your bare arms, the many patches layered over each other creating an uneven texture. You leant your cheek against his back as you sped through the night, sand flying up into the air as you rode. It was exhilarating. Your boyfriend never let you near his bike; it was his pride and joy. At this very moment, as the wind whipped through your hair, splaying it out behind you – you’d truly never felt more alive. You screamed in excitement and tightened your grip when he suddenly lifted the bike back into a wheelie, whooping wildly. The engine roared deafeningly. Your eyes clenched shut involuntarily as you felt the bike lean back, your stomach dropping. You could hear Marko chuckling at the screams coming from your mouth and found yourself laughing along.

The moon and his headlights lit the way in front, showing nothing but a long expanse of sand. To your right was the most gorgeous view of the ocean, to the left the vivid lights from the fairground. It felt as though the moonlight was stalking you both, following you through the shadows and bouncing off the waves. Part of you didn’t want the night to end. It was like a dream.

Unfortunately, the ride was finished too soon. Riding bumpily back up the stairs to the boardwalk, Marko parked his bike back where you’d first started nearly two hours ago. After that ride, your boyfriend wasn’t even a passing thought in your mind. All you could think about was the pretty boy who was currently helping you off the back of his bike.

“How was that?” He grinned as he slung his arm around your shoulder, pulling you into his side.

“Well, it was definitely worth the absolute mess that is my hair right now,” you giggled, trying your best to smooth out your locks but to no avail. Not that it mattered when two seconds later Marko’s hand found it’s way into your hair, messing it up once again. You glared playfully at him.

“It’s cute, you should keep it like that,” he winked. “C’mon!”

He grabbed your hand, dragging you into the fairground before you could protest. Not that you would have. You weren’t 100% sure where all of this was going – whether he was just trying to cheer you up because of the whole boyfriend thing or whether it was something more. But you put all of those thoughts to the back of your mind. You just wanted to have a good time.

And you did. He dragged you on pretty much every ride, no matter how many times you was chased off by the security guard. Laughing delightedly together on the biggest roller coasters, you clinging tightly to his arm as the cart teetered over the edge of steep inclines. The teasing quips he’d make about you being scared. It was a rush, a breath of fresh air. The pounding in your heart and lungs as you sprinted away from Ed hunting the two of you down. Of course Marko hadn’t told you about his ban from the boardwalk. You weren’t one to get in trouble a lot, but this was exhilarating. After getting pursued all throughout the fun house (you’d lost Ed in the mirror room, and Marko for a short while too, but you’d reunited outside the fun house), the two of you sprinted down to a ride at the very end of the fairground. A boat ride on a track tempted you, one you hadn’t seen before. Must be new. But hiding in the tunnel seemed like a good shout.

“Quick, on here!” You both hopped onto the ride, the boat rocking creakily in the water, and frantically urged the operator to start.

The bored teen cranked the lever and you were off, heading towards a tunnel lit up with pink tinted lights on the inside. You looked up just in time to see the lit up banner pasted on top of the tunnel. The Tunnel of Love.

Go figure.

You breathed heavily, desperately trying to catch your breath, clutching the side of the boat. Looking at your companion, you couldn’t understand how Marko seemed so unbothered while you were still fighting the stitch in your side. Instead, he was far more distracted by the inside of the tunnel. Huge heart-shaped arches lead you through the ride, flower petals were scattered across the water. Neon bulbs emanated a pink glow as a subtle, sweet smell spread through the air.

He looked at you, smirking. “Just wanted to get me alone, huh babe?”

You rolled your eyes, shoving his shoulder with your own. “Not your babe…” you said quietly.

He giggled, intently gazing into your eyes. Carefully, he reached out and took your hand. You felt the cool leather of his fingerless gloves and rough callouses as he gently played with your fingertips. He smiled lopsidedly at you. Your heart fluttered.

“You still thinking about him? Your night still ruined?”

You bit your lip, shaking your head. “He’s the last thing on my mind right now.”

His gaze was intense, you felt so analysed. One of his hands left yours, coming up to cup your cheek. Your breath hitched but you leant into his touch, your eyes fluttering closed. You waited. Soft lips pressed against your own, capturing your mouth in a sweet kiss. It was so different than you expected, gentle and slow. Until he took his arm and moved it to your back, manoeuvring you onto his lap. His hand dropped to your waist, his grip firm as he deepened the kiss. You arms came up to settle around his neck, one of your hands tangled in his blond curls. He held you tightly against his body as his lips moved in sync with yours, the kiss becoming gradually more messy as it went on. You were breathless, chest heaving but unable to part from him. The gloved hand around your waist became more and more confident, playing with the hem of your shirt before sliding underneath. The cold leather made you shiver as it slid against you, tracing patterns on your side. It was so sudden when he bit your lip, a high whine escaping you. You could feel him smirk against your lips. Your head was foggy as he reconnected your lips, almost possessive with the way he held you against him.

“That’s enough kids, break it up!”

You hadn’t even noticed the ride stop. You sprung apart from him, still feeling as though your were under a trance. Looking up, blinking in the bright lights of the fairground, you saw the night guard hovering over you both, a triumphant scowl on his face.

“Uh oh-”

“I’ve got you now!”

Marko yanked you up, leapt out of the boat and – narrowly escaping Ed’s arms – the chase began once again. You ran side by side into the night, laughing manically. You’d definitely be giving your boyfriend a call tonight.

[meiieiri]

Hi! Another person here asking about Water's Edge (sorry). This is kind of an insight into your writing and your life, so if you don't feel comfortable with that or just don't wanna share, feel free to ignore this!

You're thinking of discontinuing the series because of lack in interaction, right? I can't think of a smooth way to transition into my question, so I'll just put it bluntly:

Is writing Water's Edge (specifically) something that you're doing for interactions or something you're doing for fun?

That question alone should determine whether or not you should discontinue the series.

If you're doing this purely for interactions, I'd say that I can't really help you. It's up to you if your writing is purely based on interactions.

If it's for fun, then consider how much fun you're having while doing this. Are you having fun writing it? Does it feel more like a chore than something you'd like to do? If it feels like a burden, then stop. Discontinue the series. If it feels like a burden because of interactions, try and disregard interactions and focus on writing. Never let views, interactions, likes, shares, comments, etc– determine the worth or fun of your writing. Ever. You may already know that, but it's just a reminder. If you really liked where the series was headed, then I'd say finish that chapter and see how things go. If you're happy with it and proud of what you did, then I'd say consider continuing it. If you feel like either a huge burden was lifted after finishing it or just genuinely exhausted, try taking a break or just discontinuing it completely. Personally, I was a really consistent poster once. It got boring and exhausting trying to think of new ideas. I'm now only posting once every 2 months, maybe? I feel much better.

Take my advice if you want, but you don't need to be completely swayed by my opinions or personal thoughts. Just take it into consideration. I personally really like Water's Edge. The storyline is interesting and the formatting is unique. I'd love to see more of it, but it'd be awful if you decided to put your work before yourself. If you do discontinue it, please take care of yourself.

Note: Maybe writing shorter chapters will make it less of a chore? The first two chapters were really long. Idk I'm not a writer. Just an idea.

Sorry this was really long. I hope you have a good day 💕 Sorry if something doesn't make sense or if there's grammar mistakes! I'm writing this on my phone :,)

I actually really liked reading this, damn.

And to answer your question, no, I’m not writing purely out of interactions, in fact, I first started writing this series because I really had a good idea on the top of my head, I just think that, with all my exhaustion writing these longass chapters, it’ll be great to see people actually picking it up and showing appreciation or even hate, lmao. Just something to be recognized would have gone a long way but — that’s something the old me would say. I was re-reading the last few chapters and I feel really bad of having to leave it on the table, completely forgotten, because this fic — writing this fic rather – is the closest thing I have to an actual baby :’3

But you’re right, I did a lot of thinking and I’m guessing we’re back on, this is something I’ll see through to the end. However bitter it may be.

Thanks for this, I needed that.

[sameschmidtdiffname]

Happy Trans Day of Visibility to my dear readers and followers!!! (And happy Easter for those who celebrate!)

From the bottom of my heart I just wanted to say I support and love each one of you. Whether you're out, closeted, questioning- you are so extremely valid. Don't let people define your identity for you, don't be ashamed of who you are, and find happiness within yourself.

Now, if I were an intelligent content creator I would have my Transmasc!Reader x Mike smut ready to post today. But I'm not! So I don't! Honestly, with how much work I've had lately I'm still in Febuary mode lmao. So here's a short teaser, and maybe one day I'll get my shit together and post some writing again.

(Notes: This is a copy of my first draft. This work is subject to change and thus will most likely look at least somewhat different in the final work. Content warning for mild NSFW. You are responsible for what you read.)

"Oh, stop," Mike scoffs, rolling his eyes at me as he sprawls across his couch lazily, his work boot halfway hanging off of his toes, his arm spread across the back of the sofa while the other props up his head on top of the arm.

-

I like how the older generation can't handle some light-hearted, meant in good fun teasing.

"Come on, what was JFK like as president?" I tease, leaning forward as I sit on the coffee table in front of him.

"My parents didn't even know each other yet," Mike says in a judgmental yet entertained voice, furrowing his brows and smiling at me as he waves his hand in dismissal.

"Oh! Tell me about Woodstock," I ask excitedly, my palms pressing against the wooden table underneath of me between my widely spread legs, flashing my most innocent, wide, bright eyed smile like an excited puppy dog to its owner.

"The last one sucked," Mike says, short and simple.

"No, the first one," I correct.

Mike pushes me to the side slightly, meant in jest and so he can see what events are unfolding on the television.

"Do you get nostalgic when you watch films about World War II?" I ask in the same excited tone, pushing back and repositioning myself to block the TV further.

"I am eight years older than you," Mike reminds me as if I'd forgotten. "Grow up."

"Oh, Mr. Robs The Cradle wants maturity now?"

This earns me a swift pillow to the head, torn out from under Mike's body as he begins his assault on me, snickering and trying to maintain his less than pleased exterior.

"Come here," he commands inbetween laughs. "You're getting spanked."

"Spanked?" I laugh, raising my arm to both protect my face from the blows of his pillow and to hide the sudden blush that has sprung to my face. "Why?"

"Come on, you wanna talk shit about our age gap, you can be treated accordingly," Mike insists, smiling as he tosses away the pillow to grab at my arm. "On my lap. Come on, tough guy."

The idea makes me dizzy, heat rushing through my body at his words.

"You wouldn't," I laugh a tad nervously, dodging his eye contact.

"Oh, I would. And I will," Mike laughs. "Don't act so innocent now, we both know why you're making these jokes."

I really hadn't meant them in such a way, honestly. To be completely honest, I'm not even really sure how I would go about making such innuendos. At least, not like this. Sure, I can do the blunt, "your mother" esqe jokes that are purely meant for comedy. Flirting, however, is a completely different story.

"I didn't mean it like that," I say earnestly, still avoiding his gaze.

Mike's hand finds the silver chain hanging close around my neck, his hand slowly creeping up my chest.

"No?" Mike asks, his gaze fixed somewhere below my face.

"No," I answer, my tone a bit short but not in an angry manner. More one of embarrassment. Mike quickly picks up on this.

"Something the matter?" Mike asks, cocking his head slightly as his eyes return to my face. I blush again, shaking my head.

"No," I say a tad too quickly. His pointer wraps around my chain.

"No?" Mike asks, echoing my tone with an imitation of my face, though he's caking on the innocent undertones a little too thick. "You don't look so well intended."

"I was just making some innocent jokes and-"

"And now you're turned on?" Mike asks, his middle finger wrapping around the chain as well, his voice dropping in pitch and volume slightly as a small, subtle smirk begins to grow on his face. My chest feels like it's burning now, my face hot to the touch.

"I'm not turned on," I mutter under my breath, a smile unwillingly growing on my face as I look away. I feel a small tug on my chain.

"Look at me," Mike says softly, no reprimand in his voice. I don't, suddenly too shy and earning me another tug on my chain. "Look at me."

I obey, looking up quickly then flitting my gaze away, red in the face, shifting slightly on the table to allow my legs to come closer together.

Mike tuts his tongue against his teeth, pulling me closer to him, gentle on the chain whilst watching me with eyes that feel almost predatory, his lips parted slightly as though he's anticipating something.

"Hasn't your father ever told you to respect your elders?" Mike asks in a husky, deep voice as he pulls me onto his lap, his other arm now wrapping around my hips as I begin to realize what exactly I've found myself in.

-

I know, I know. "Dani, when are we getting some freaky shit back on our feed?" Listen, I'm trying here. The good news is that my IRL work project is going to wrap up here in the next month. The bad news is, unfortunately, I most likely won't write anything until after April. I know, I'm sorry. I only meant for the break to be two weeks, and it's going to be almost two months instead. But in the meantime, peruse my Masterlist and check out some of my upcoming works! And maybe if God decides they love me, I'll be able to post at least a drabble here soon <3

Stay safe, pookies. Please know that you are valid, you are loved, and you are special no matter what anyone else says.

Also, I think I'm a lesbian.

'TILL NEXT TIME, FOLKS! <3

[gurugirl]

A Balancing Act Sneak Peek

A/N: I'll be posting Part 1 of this 4 part mini series next week (not sure what day yet but I'll be announcing it). This is a 1.5k word sneaky so enjoy! xoxo

Series requested by @cinnamonone

It had been a while since she’d been interested in anyone. And she didn’t know what Harry wanted but the night before she was picking up certain vibes. She could be wrong. Perhaps she’d misread the whole situation. But she thought it could be fun to get out a little. Try and move on from the trauma of her last relationship. She tried not to think of it when she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Moving on had been something she’d been attempting to do for a while. A fun night with a handsome pop star could help a little. If that’s where things led. Hopefully.

At the bar, she ordered soda water to start. She didn’t want to get sloppy, just in case it turned into something more than just a friendly chat. It was around the time Harry said he’d meet her. She’d give him a little leeway to be late since he had just gotten finished putting on a concert for thousands of adoring fans.

But when another thirty minutes had passed she checked her phone to find that there was nothing from him and no sign of his cute dimples in the bar anywhere either.

She waved at the bartender, “I’ll have a glass of house chardonnay please.”

She figured she might as well have one more glass of wine for the evening before calling it a night.

Looking at Instagram while she waited for her glass of wine she realized she had a dm. It was from Dante. An artist she hit it off with at her last art showing. They’d been messaging back and forth a bit but nothing had come of it. He lived a few hours away from her so getting together again hadn’t really been brought up. Except now.

Hey!  I’ll be heading your way for an art exhibit soon. Would love to catch up in person if you’re free. Would you be interested in seeing me again? I’ll let you know when I’ll be in town when I find out more.

Smiling she began to type her response when the bartender placed her glass of wine down along with an envelope with her name written on the front.

She looked up at the young man in question

“Concierge handed this to me right after you ordered.”

“But how did you know this was for me?” She lifted the envelope up and flipped it over to open it up.

“Because I have your credit card with your name on it when you started your tab. Plus they described you. It’s from a very special guest I’m told.”

A very special guest.

She pulled her lips into her mouth to hide the grin that was about to take over as she looked around the bar, still, with no sign of Harry.

Pulling out the contents of the envelope she took a sip of her wine.

Sorry, I ran late. Take a drink in my room with me? p1900 - H

Blinking her eyes she felt her pulse pick up as she folded the note and tucked it into her purse. She gulped down another bit of chardonnay and grinned to herself, already having completely forgotten about Dante.

So she had read this right. The nerves in her belly bubbled up as she waved at the bartender, Check please!”

After making a pitstop at her room to “freshen” up she realized that in the elevator the buttons for the floors stopped off at 8. After that was P.

Penthouse.

Hitting the P, she leaned her back into the wall as the elevator took her to the top floor.

The moment she stepped out of the elevator she was greeted by a man, “Can I help you, ma’am?”

“Oh!” She suddenly remembered who she was dealing with. Harry Styles, a world-famous, A-list pop star. Of course, he’d have security. “Yes, I uh… Harry invited me up-“ She reached into her purse and pulled out the note, “Here.”

The man unfolded the note and then looked at her with a smile, “Y/n?”

So he’d told them her name…

She nodded as he handed the note back to her, “Follow me.”

She figured this was something Harry had done before; had people brought to his room. The occasional one-night stand. Some fun for the weekend.

The man knocked at the door and only a handful of seconds passed before Harry was standing in the doorway, wearing the same comfortable after-concert outfit he’d been wearing when she left the venue earlier.

He smiled at her, “Come in,” and then looked at the man, “Thanks, Shamus.”

The suite was huge. That was no surprise. She’d seen a few nice suites in her days. Being an artist wasn’t always so lucrative but she was often invited to the good after parties. She had a lot of artsy fartsy friends, some very well-off.

“I’m really sorry about being so late. I just got caught up and then before I realized the time it was too late. I’m glad you were still at the bar.”

“Yeah,” she said as she walked around toward the sitting area with the large woven rug and plush couches, “about that… what if I wasn’t in the bar? I was about to go back to my room.”

“Well, then I guess we would have missed one another. That would have been a shame.”

“But you have my number. You could have reached out.”

Harry scratched the back of his neck as she sat down. She was acting far more confident than she really was. But this was part of what she did. She was constantly put into situations where she needed to be confident and sell herself. Her art was an extension of herself. So when she needed to make some sales at shows and galleries she learned just how to do that. Her art sold itself for the most part. But there were enough people who wanted her story. Sometimes, she was what sold her piece. She’d do whatever it took to not be a starving artist anymore.

“I know I could have. But… I hope you don’t take offense. I have a rule not to give out my number so easily. Not that I think you’d use it to do anything but I’ve just had some really bad experiences. People I’ve trusted have betrayed me and changing my number is something I have nightmares about,” he laughed as sat down next to her on the couch.

She laughed with him. She actually could sort of understand it. Being a woman was like that in a way. Giving out her number to someone could be risky. It was a gamble to have her information out there with someone she didn’t know well.

“I’m not offended. But I really thought you’d changed your mind. Though, in all honesty,” she stretched her arms overhead and leaned back into the very shockingly comfortable couch, “I was sort of looking forward to my bed. I’m exhausted.”

Harry leaned back and draped his leg over his knee, “I know what you mean. If I were you I’d much prefer a comfy bed than to spend any time with me either,” he laughed and then put his arm along the back of the couch, “but really… if you’re tired, don’t feel pressure to stay. I am glad you’re here, though.”

There it was. He gave her the choice. So he could have the green light. The thumbs up. He was clever. Telling her she didn’t have to stay but also letting her know he wanted her there. The ball was in her court.

“I’m curious as to why you think I’m interesting enough to invite back to your room for a drink, of which I’ve not yet been offered,” she teased with a chuckle. She didn’t want to seem like some pushover but at the same time, she felt a little flirty. She’d had such a good night at the gallery and she hadn’t been alone with a man nearly as attractive as Harry in… well, she’d never been alone with a man as attractive as Harry. And he was very much giving off the air of flirty himself. The way he kept putting his finger up to his lip, the eye contact, his arm reaching across the couch behind her… His body language was a dead giveaway.

 “You don’t think you’re interesting?”

Y/n smiled. He was good. Of course that was a good line to use on someone he didn’t know. She was wondering something very specific that he’d yet to admit. That she was there for some fun. A quick romp. He had a need that he wanted filled and so did she. The reason he’d asked her to his room was for that. Yet he insisted on playing coy.

“I know I’m interesting. But you don’t know me. So why is it that you’ve asked me here?” She raised her brows at him as he stood and walked to the buffet across the room.

“I felt comfortable with you from the start. It’s nice to have a conversation with someone new once in a while. Not someone in the industry,” Harry turned back with a bottle of wine in one hand and two glasses in his other, “and sorry I didn’t offer you a drink. Wine?”

Feedback/Thoughts | Support Me! | Main Masterlist

[1loer]

@polaroid-steam-room : 'Something with Imposter and Nagito, maybe talking about identity stuff? At least I’d feel like it’d make for a unique and kinda comforting convo between the two! Ok this ended up way less comforting than you probably wanted I'm sorry AHGUAEGHUEG m(__)m. I do want to explore that type of conversation with them post canon, buuuut i want to save it for a later date hehe :3c but! I still thought they could've had an interesting dynamic in game, especially in the first chapter. I realised its kind of weird Imposter didn't see through Komaeda's ruse, all things considered, so explored that instead. I hope it still sort of hits what u wanted!!!!!!!! thank u for suggesting these two. Getting into Imposter's head and thinking about them a bit more seriously was acc rlly fun!! <3 I hope u like it <3

There was comfort in control. 

Maybe that comfort was the reason they chose to wear someone as commanding and imperious as the Ultimate Affluent Progeny. 

Komaeda Nagito was a nebulous personality. Most of the others had been easy to read from the second they said ‘hi’. Even someone like Hinata Hajime, who had forgotten so much more about himself than the rest of them had, was an open and well-worn book to them. They could’ve perfected his presentation in a second, even without knowledge on what his talent was. But Komaeda had been a bit more difficult than that. He was elusive, keeping to himself if he wasn’t keeping to Hinata’s side. 

Normally, unless completely necessary, they wouldn’t bother themselves with trying to untangle a knot as tightly wound as someone like Komaeda. But, with this whole ridiculous mess of a so-called ‘killing game’ they’d been unwillingly entered into…Well, you need a knot to tie a noose. 

Komaeda stood off to the side, leaning against a wall, seemingly content to watch the party pass him by. Every now and again, they’d catch his eye twitch towards a table at the back of the room, next to where he stood. It seemed habitual; protective. The way someone would keep watch of their belongings they left at their table at a cafe when they went up to the bar to order. 

Again, perhaps in any other situation, they wouldn’t find reason to worry over something so unobtrusive. But from what they could see, there was no reason Komaeda should be so pre-occupied with an empty table. In a situation like this, quirks like that were the most important to keep on top of. 

“Komaeda, have you eaten?”

Komaeda acted surprised, even though there was no way he couldn’t have noticed their approach. Muggy eyes wide and blinking clear as they quickly snatched away from that empty table once more.  

“Oh, hello Togami!” He smiled gently, and tittered a laugh, “Of course I’ve eaten! How could I pass up the opportunity to try food made for us by an Ultimate like Hanamura?” 

They held out a plate towards Komaeda, so filled with food it was a strain to hold with just one hand, “Have another plate, you need it.” 

If his back wasn’t already backed against a wall, they were sure Komaeda would’ve taken a step back, “I’m okay, really!” he pleaded, hands up in polite rejection. 

“It wasn’t a request.” 

They shoved the plate into Komaeda’s chest, and on instinct he grabbed it. He regarded it tentatively, an awkwardly stiff tilt in his shoulders. 

“Ah, Koizumi was right. You really are forceful.” He laughed lightly, relaxing a little. Togami wouldn’t react to such a pointless statement, so neither did they. Then, with a tilt of his head, the brightness that on the surface seemed characteristic to Komaeda returned, “But I guess it is to be expected of such a capable leader.” 

But Komaeda’s brightness was just that. Surface level. He was good at it. Obviously very practised at it. He wasn’t surprised that no one else seemed to have noticed. Even Togami, they were certain, wouldn’t have noticed. Togami would find him distasteful, annoying, and someone so completely not worth his time that even finding these two words to describe him would be more effort than Togami would believe he deserved. 

In any other circumstance, he would’ve stuck to his guns with this characterisation. If he let his own beliefs and intuition bleed into his act, it would reveal the act for what it was. If there was one thing, they could confidently say about themselves, it was that they were good at what they did. The fact that even Hope’s Peak had figured them out to bestow them the title ‘Ultimate Imposter’ was shocking. But he supposed that only spoke to the capabilities of an academy like Hope’s Peak. But this was simply something he just couldn’t ignore. 

They would be the first to admit that they had been out of character. If faced with this same situation, they were certain that the real Togami’s actions would have been exactly opposite of their own. Togami was ruthless, selfish, cold, and above all else, a horrible loser and an even worse winner. To someone like Togami, the only thing that really mattered as much as his family’s name was winning. Togami’s, historically, didn’t lose. The Togami heir would not be the end of that streak. No, the real Togami in this situation would be the exact person Monokuma would want in his game, because Togami would play to win, and would not take even a second to care for the people in the game with him. 

But they just couldn’t sit comfortably in that role. Despite what he knew of Togami, he couldn’t in good faith look these people in their eyes, people that were supposed to be his classmates, all just as confused and lost and scared as they were and tell them that he would throw them all under the bus if it meant getting off this island and getting back to his work. 

Luckily for them, for what they and the rest of their class could remember, none of them knew Togami Byakuya. So, none of them would question their motives for trying so hard to keep all of them safe. After all, when all was said and done, could they really claim the title Ultimate Imposter if they couldn’t even perform a personality out of character in a convincing way? 

“Fat is important to keep you alive. In stressful situations like this, eating well is especially important. I don’t want you dying for a reason as pathetic as malnutrition, especially not while I am your leader.” 

Komaeda chuckled amicably in place of a response, and accepted the plate completely, giving it another nervous once over. They treated him much the same, their eyes scanning him from the toe of his scuffed brown leather shoes (subtly expensive, understated and unnoticeable if you didn’t know what you were looking at) to the tip of the unruly, curly white mop of his hair (unnatural and unhealthy. All the more so when you caught sight of the pale, blushing, strawberry blonde that lingered in the crook of his neck). 

“Plus,” They started, folding their arms. Komaeda stared at him innocently, “It must take up a lot of energy, keeping up this facade you’re performing.” 

Komaeda tripped; Togami smirked. 

He recovered quickly, in the blink of an eye, smiling awkwardly and titling his head with a disarming curiosity, but they didn’t miss the stiffness that returned in his shoulders, 

“Ah, pardon?” 

“Don’t make me repeat myself.” Togami replied, cool and just slightly irritated. Then, that harsh, blunt cover fell back, and they looked away, “It's not an issue. I understand. More than you’d know.” 

Surprisingly, Komaeda actually seemed to back down a little, his guard dropping an inch, his smile turning wiry, “...I’m not so sure about that.” 

Despite themselves, they felt themself responding much the same. 

The more they thought about it, the more his facade made sense. They thought back to the confident way he tried to speak, the way he shakingly grabbed at the attention of his peers, his grip as perfect and practised as a baby grabbing for its favourite toy. That is to say, it was cack-handed and clumsy, and landed poorly every single time. They thought of how easily he sunk back from Saionji’s remarks, how he accepted them without protest. In those moments, he seemed much more comfortable than any other time they’d seen him. Then there was his attachment to Hinata, someone who, through no fault of his own, was the only true outcast amongst their group. With no idea of what his talent was, Hinata was, unfortunately, a bit lost amongst the rest of them. Who, with nothing else to hold onto, at least had the confidence of knowing who they were, what their role was. Komaeda was optimistic, friendly, and agreeable, even when he probably really shouldn’t have been, and seemed to care very deeply about how he came off to everyone around him. The effort he put in to clean this room for this party at such short notice was evidence enough of that. It was the only time they had seen him nearly brag about something he’d done or speak even close to positively about himself. He was meek and quiet, and overall, just seemed…

Lonely. 

Well, that was something they certainly could understand. 

“There is comfort in hiding yourself.” They replied, their eyes scanning across the room, checking in on the people happily enjoying the party around them. Oowari and Mioda were being a bit too rowdy and getting shouted at for it by Saionji (Hinata watched them from the sides, laughing a little at what they were doing, but not too much. Maybe he’d have to talk to him about all this as well), “The person I present myself as is never usually the person I really am inside, if I was completely truthful.” Their eyes spared a passing glance at Komaeda. The intense, unblinking stare he levelled them with was unsettling. Togami didn’t feel it, and held it back, just as insistent, “It’s a useful strategy for business. It keeps you separated from your work, makes sure you don’t take anything too personally so you can focus on one, clear goal. The total and complete domination of the Togami Industry, above all others.” 

Komaeda blinked widely, his heavy stare not really seeing Togami, before it drifted off to the side, “I suppose.” Then, he was back, bright and chipper, “I can see why the Togami company has historically done so well. You’re going to do amazing, once you inherit it.” 

“I know that well enough.” He shot back dismissively, then they relented, softening once more, “But…It’s not easy. The price you pay for that safety is…You can never truly get close to someone.” 

They hoped the weight of their stare matched the weight of their words, really made what they were trying to say, as Togami may say it, sink in. 

“...What a lonely life.” Komaeda said wistfully. For a moment, his bright eyes turned cloudy, his smile dropped. Like white noise, it was only when it was gone that they really realised how present it usually was. Then, once it returned, it stood out more than it ever had.  

Komaeda understood. They wished they could feel better about that fact. They felt their heart ache, just a little. Even if they had guessed as much, it was another thing to see their suspicions confirmed. Along with the sympathy came a spike of guilt they tried desperately to shake. They tried to remind themselves that they had to treat everyone with a level of suspicion. That is what Togami would do. The logical, clinical response to a situation so incredibly illogical, and what they needed to do to make sure everyone survived. But the guilt persisted, in spite of this logic. Komaeda had been higher than most on their watchlist, nearly higher than even Hinata, (who was the most suspicious out of all of them) only because of his closed off, peculiar demeanour. To suspect someone, just because they were a bit awkward, a bit unconfident, a bit…Different. Maybe it was what Togami would’ve done, but it didn’t make them feel any better about it. 

“‘Lonely’ is a pathetic word to describe the feeling.” Togami replied coldly. He locked eyes with Komaeda, and he shifted under his stare, “It’s a living hell.” They replied, a truth in their words so deep and unnatural to Togami, that for a small second, they felt uncertain. It was enough that, despite what he wanted, what Togami wanted, they broke eye contact first. It was dangerous, a little too far. Something in Komaeda’s face changed, and they quickly shifted gears. Togami closed his eyes, and smirked with a confidence they didn’t feel, “If you really wish to see these bonds between us all come to fruition as you say, perhaps it’s something you should consider.” 

That piercing look, stripping them like a nail through orange peel, disappeared. They felt it lift like a physical weight. Once it was gone, it was like it was never there in the first place. Komaeda smiled prettily, a slight glimpse of his white teeth peeking through, as he apologised, 

“Thank you for your concern, Togami. I’m sorry I made you worry.” 

Togami scoffed, “Don’t be stupid.” He scolded him, looking at him down his nose. Komaeda lowered his head, laughing quietly, and the control fell comfortably back into Togami’s hands. It was relieving. It made them stand on his feet a little steadier. 

“Ah, of course. I overstepped there, how lame of me.” Komaeda sighed. Then, a hard, serious look grew on his face, much more serious than was needed, “No, you’re absolutely right. I completely understand. It is exactly as you said it.” Komaeda looked at him, but it was…Different. Something disquieting sat in their stomach, like a small stray piece of burning shrapnel. A splinter that broke under their skin as it was recklessly pulled free. “In the end, above all else, your end goal must be your main focus, and you must be whoever you need to be to see that goal through to its glorious end.” 

Komaeda’s voice was the same as it ever was, breathy and light. But something was…wrong. Something undetectable, he couldn’t put his finger on it. He just knew something wasn’t right. Carbon dioxide. Silent, odourless. Deadly. 

The alarm blared in their head, a niggling beep they couldn’t ignore. 

“...And what is your goal exactly?” They asked. Years of practice kept Togami’s voice solid, portrayed none of the uncertainty they felt underneath his skin. 

Komaeda smiled. The beeping persisted. 

Togami didn’t flinch in the face of intimidation, so he didn’t swallow the nerves that built in the back of their throat.

“To see everyone here working together to make their hope shine brightly.”

Komaeda’s smile didn’t waver. The bright spark in their eye didn’t dim, and no matter how hard they pried, nothing budged. Everything stayed solid, real, genuine. 

So why did it all feel so…Wrong? 

“Hm…” 

That guilt they felt from before resurfaced. What had Komaeda really done to make them suspect him so harshly? Komaeda had been nothing but kind, nothing but helpful, and in his own, solid, truthful words, stated his plan was the exact same as their own. Komaeda had shown himself as nothing but their ally, supported their idea from the start, even while everyone else had cast doubt over it. Now they were suspecting him, because he smiled a bit weirdly? Because his stare was unsettling? Because he was a bit…Different? 

The circumstances were getting to him. This suspicion, distrust with no basis, was exactly what Monokuma wanted. Togami wouldn’t play into the hands of someone like Monokuma. He’d win on his own terms. They were inclined to agree. 

If there was someone to suspect, it just made this whole awful mess easier. With a place to point their finger, they’d know how to act, know how to win, know how to keep everyone safe.  

They changed the batteries in the alarm. Pushed the button to reset. The alarm stopped. They pretended it made them feel better. 

Togami huffed a laugh, and they turned away, with one final command, “Eat. You need fat on your bones. The island wind will blow you away.” 

“Yessir!” Komaeda replied playfully, his eyes scrunching handsomely as he giggled. 

Together they’d stand, divided they’d fall. That was the real truth at the centre of all this mess. It was what they needed to hold onto, in the face of everything else. Despite what Togami may want, they were not going to let any of them turn into murderers. 

There was comfort in control. But they would not let that comfort make a fool out of them.

[nxmuzluv]

THE FIRST SINGLE … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

“GIRLS DON’T CRY” is the debut single by CHOUKA AIKAWA. Released on April 5th, 2024, the song went on to top charts in various countries. Hailed as one of the best debuts of 2024, critics and fans alike fell in love with the song’s “girlish” and carefree production, and praised how Chouka stayed so true to her hyperfeminine, “princesscore” image. The song’s success as caused critics to name her as a pop girl on the rise.

TRACKLIST … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

GIRLS DON’T CRY ! LEAD SINGLE

CAKE ! B-SIDE

GIRLS DON’T CRY (SPED UP)

PHOTOCARDS … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

COMMERCIAL PERFORMANCE … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Highly praised for its sound and how it fit Chouka’s style, “Girls Don’t Cry” was a resounding success. The music video’s teaser, which was released with no prior notice onto a completely new YouTube channel (“c.a.”) with no previous content (it was later turned into a channel for all of Chouka’s music related endeavors), garnered over 3.2 million views within its first twenty-four hours after Chouka posted it to her Twitter and Instagram accounts. The single’s title was revealed on both platforms an hour later, coinciding with the launch of her official website, which displayed the title alongside a countdown timer.

The song received over 400,000 pre-saves, and the title was trending on Twitter with over a million Tweets. Shortly before “Girls Don’t Cry” dropped, Chouka’s website was updated with the single’s cover, and she posted behind the scenes photos of her on its set, which received over two million likes within the first day.

Upon the song’s release, it was a smash hit. The music video garnered 32 million views within its first 24 hours, finding itself at #1 on YouTube’s trending page, and topping both the Spotify and Apple Music charts. It went on to become the second most streamed song on Spotify in regards to first day streams. “Girls Don’t Cry” topped charts in several countries, including Japan, South Korea, Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the Philippines (it also managed to remain atop the Oricon chart for seven weeks).

Surprisingly enough, “Girls Don’t Cry” would debut at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 with sales of over 200,00 units, despite industry insiders predicting a Top 20 debut; probably due to the song’s immense popularity online. Unfortunately, it would never reach #1, falling to #7 after five weeks and staying there for two until falling off, but Rosettes were still happy to see that Chouka’s debut managed to get that high. In total, the single would sell over 850,000 units within its first week, cracking a million by the end of April.

Additionally, the song was also praised for its lyricism and feminist commentary on how women who are seen as “strong” or “smart” are not allowed to cry or display negative emotions and are expected to act as role models, while women who appear as if they have everything are told to “just deal with it” and that they have “nothing to be upset about.” Many Rosettes (and critics) were also surprised to find out that Chouka had written most of the lyrics, as she never expressed interest in songwriting before.

“Cake” was released as a single a month later, on May 3rd, 2024. Although the music video received over 11 million views within its first twenty-four hours, Rosettes were … a bit divided. It seemed like none of them could figure out whether they liked the song or not, with certain Tweets saying …

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ “ y’all are just HATERS ! like y’all have truly forgotten what real pop music sounds like bc cake is a hit idc ! ”

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ “ chouka girl with all due respect i think letting a major label get a hold of you was a mistake ”

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ “ no bc this is girly girl music ! it’s cute it’s fun it’s bouncy and it’s so HER ! chouka bby get behind me PUT DOWN THE HATERADE NOWWWW !! ”

˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗ “ #notmychouka girl why does this sound so EMPTY ??? republic needs to pay for their crimes bc ….. ”

Despite the confusion, “Cake” also went on to top charts. It also debuted atop the Apple Music chart, and came in second beneath “Girls Don’t Cry” on Spotify. It managed to debut at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, although Rosettes were gunning for a higher placement (it was definitely because they couldn’t stop beefing with each other). The song remained on the chart for two weeks (managing to jump to #5 during its second), before completely falling off the Top Ten.

Luckily, more retrospective reviews shows that Rosettes have warmed up to “Cake,” saying that it fit the aesthetic of the lead single. Everyone loved the “sugar sweet” concept that Chouka had going on, and expressed pleasant surprise that her try at a music career was going so well.

STYLING … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

ERA HIGHLIGHTS … ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

Definitely a fun era! Republic was truly pushing this single and girl, it showed. There were billboards playing her music video (Rosettes in New York even crowded around one when it first launched), ads plastered all across YouTube, “Girls Don’t Cry” was all over the radio, and it was the most popular song on TikTok for a good month.

The promotions were insane! Chouka was all over television this era. She was on the Kelly Clarkson Show (which was too cute! Like Kelly literally complimented her accent), she was on Jimmy Fallon, she was on GMA … like you truly could not escape her! She also had a photoshoot with Harper’s Bazaar and people ate it up! It was very Marie Antoinette themed with huge dresses, pastries, and of course, it was shot at a chateau in France!

And of course she had to promote in Japan! Chouka performed both “Girls Don’t Cry” and “Cake” on Music Station, and no one expected either song to have choreography. But the choreo was so cute, and especially for “Girls Don’t Cry!” Like you could truly tell that Chouka was having a blast, and everyone was so surprised at her stage presence because she’s literally a YouTuber. She also held a press conference in Tokyo, and she even got to visit a pop-up event held by Rosettes at a café in her hometown, Kyoto! It was the cutest thing to see her interacting with her fans, and she thanked them at least five times.

Chouka managed to squeeze in Korean promotions, as well! She performed both of her singles on M Countdown, Inkigayo, and The Show, and she was even on Weekly Idol! She held a small fansign for 200 fans who participated in the pre-order and received a “mystery ticket” with their album, and it was so cute! Chouka was cracking jokes with them and receiving SO many gifts (most of which were either pink or ridiculously expensive; she got a lot of bouquets, too!). Her Korean promos even saw the birth of her first fansite, Strawberry Sweet! She also appeared on the cover of Vogue Korea, and after that, Korean promotions ended unfortunately.

Side note, every performance of “Girls Don’t Cry” started with a costume change! It was usually Chouka tearing off a huge ball gown like skirt to reveal her shorter costume underneath, and her performance on M Countdown was literally her playing a princess getting ready for a ball. There was also a lot of ribbons, platform heels, and satin gloves used styling wise, and Chouka’s makeup was always so soft and pink!

Although she didn’t have enough songs to perform a full set, Chouka attended Coachella anyways and met a bunch of Rosettes! Jason (her fiancé) also tagged along, so fans got to meet him, too! Fashion girls were all over her festival looks too … being raised in Milan truly did wonders for her fashion sense.

Girl, the way the “#GirlsDontCryChallenge” blew up on TikTok is insane. The song had over a million videos underneath it by the start of June, and Chouka was doing it with celebs like Kelly, Tate McRae, Olivia Rodrigo, the members of Aespa, the members of Itzy, Rosé of BLACKPINK, Nayeon and Momo from TWICE, Yuju, the members of Viviz, and a few members of Stray Kids and NCT; among others! Chouka also did the challenge with Leeseo, Rei, and Wonyoung of IVE, and the way Dives and Rosettes were across every social media app absolutely freaking out that Chouka and Wonyoung were the same room was truly crazy.

Towards the end of promotions, a full length documentary covering the making of “Girls Don’t Cry,” the music videos, and the subsequent performances premiered on YouTube. It was a mix of professional camera shots and footage personally shot by Chouka herself, which was refreshing since Rosettes got to see a sillier side to her personality. The documentary garnered over 3 million views within the first twenty-four hours, and would end up at #5 on YouTube’s trending page.

At the end of promos, Chouka posted a long, heartfelt letter to her Instagram thanking fans for their support and expressing how surprised she was at the single’s success. She wrote, “I know that you guys have been waiting three years for me to try my hand at music, and words cannot express how happy I am that it was worth the wait. Over these last few months, you all have shown me so much love, and just thinking about it is moving me to tears as I write this! I promise that I’ll repay your support tenfold. You guys truly mean the world to me, and I wouldn’t be half the person I am today if it weren’t for you. You are truly my other half, even if I unfortunately don’t know you personally (don’t tell Jason I said that). I hope and pray that one day, I’ll be able to meet every single one of you from around the whole world in person, and tell you just how much you mean to me. Until next time, my loves. Ti amo sempre e per sempre. Ciao ciao. ♡”

Additionally, there was also a remix planned with PinkPantheress, but unfortunately, plans ended up falling through because Chouka simply … didn’t want to do it. However, Rosettes ended up finding out about the planned collab, and demand for it was huge. So the remix could happen in the future! Who knows.

All in all, this era was great. It truly showed how much untapped star power Chouka had, and the numbers proved it. It reinforced her “It girl” status, showing that no matter what industry she tried her hand at, she would still dominate. ˗ˏˋ ꒰ ♡ ꒱ ˎˊ˗

[florence-is-gay]

hiii!!! im a fan of your work and was wondering of you could write some hcs of the mercs with an autistic s/o?? i struggle with autism and reading these things kinda helps. thx sm!!! :ooo

Absolutely!! I'm so glad you enjoy my headcanons, i haven't written any for quite a while lmao

--EDIT FROM YEARS LATER OML-- I had this sitting in my drafts completed with all mercs except for the last 3 listed, between procrastination and life and falling out of the fandom I guess I just eventually forgot... Once in a blue moon I'd come back to this post and think... "I'm sorry tomatosoopp... I will finish this for you one day. Maybe not now, or later, maybe not even soon... but... eventually. I promise." I hope things are going well for you, you've probably long forgotten your ask but I genuinely hope seeing this finally answered will bring you joy and make your day <3

I know it's late to say it, but Merry Christmas and Happy New year! Perhaps you can consider this as a long overdue gift, from me to you! I hope this year will bring you lots of wonderful and amazing things &lt;3 Love, Flo (P.S., I also added a bit to the shorter blurbs at the beginning... To make up for all that time! Now enjoy your long awaited post, my friend! <3)

SCOUT

Scout is pretty ADHD, and we all know how that's the peanut butter to his S/O's jelly. He gets excited with you about the things you love! And stims? Oh yeah. Leg bouncing, pen chewing, and the likes. So he won't judge you when you excitedly flap your hands or smack your thighs/any available surface. In fact, he'll share his fidgets with you when he notices you're feeling nervous or stressed. Sometimes he forgets you are extremely empathetic and sensitive to high energy or strong moods, so if he gets too excited or angry or anything of the sort he will do his best to calm himself as to not overwhelm or overstimulate you!

SNIPER

Sniper's not much of a talker, but he loves to listen to you ramble! Sometimes just the sound of your voice makes him smile! Also since he knows how tactile you are, he doesn't mind letting you feel his scars, tracing your fingers along and across them. He also lets you scritch his stubble, and he finds your reaction both amusing and adorable! Also, if you love nature, Sniper is your perfect guy! He'll take you for long walks in the woods or along hiking trails, not minding if you are slow or simply taking your time to stop and observe every little detail <3

ENGINEER

Engie loves all your little quirks!! He thinks you're the cutest darn thing on the planet! He'll definitely build you some fun fidgets and stimmy things! He also has earmuffs for when he's working with machinery, if you're feeling overstimulated he'll let you borrow them! Additionally, he enjoys relaxing with you by a fire just to chill out and play his instruments! He knows you have a fondness for music, so he tries to learn your favorite songs! He is also the type to always check on you to make sure you eat and drink <3

HEAVY

Like Sniper, Heavy isn't much for words. He doesn't mind silence, so he's perfectly okay with you zoning out, staring into space, or just lost in your thoughts. He also understands when you have a hard time wording things. He still struggles with English. And if you're feeling anxious or overwhelmed, he'll scoop you up in his big arms and hold you like a lil baby, and gently whisper words of praise and comfort. He'll also let you take naps in his arms <3 Like Engineer, he likes to make sure you don't skip meals. He doesn't always understand that some food textures are unpleasant, but he tries his best to find something you like!

DEMOMAN

Demo LOVES cuddles. He won't admit it to the other guys, but he finds it soothing. He knows you love to lay your head on his chest and listen to his heartbeat. He also gives great hugs! You told him once that you enjoy physical pressure on your body, so he'll give you extra-firm hugs, and sometimes he'll lay right on top of you to take a nap! He definitely will gift you some weighted blankets, along with some fun beanbags just to mess with. He also makes sure any touch on you is firm and grounding. Additionally, if you have a habit of sleeping a lot, it's no worry for this man! He's perfectly happy to pass out with you for 12+ hours and STILL have room for naps! As long as they are with you, he is happy <3

PYRO

Pyro themselves are nonverbal autistic, so honestly to them, you are the most normal person out there! They have hyperactive tendencies and struggle to pay attention to anything too long, but when it comes to you, you have their full attention! (To the best of their ability, anyway!) They will happily share their love for fire and cute things with you, though they also love when you share your hyperfixations with them! Not only that, but they will often bring you gifts relating to the things they know you love! Should you ever feel sad, touch-starved, or understimulated, just know Pyro will always be by your side to give you the best cuddles and hugs you could ask for!

MEDIC

If you are someone who is always psyched to learn new things, Medic is your perfect guy! He knows a lot about physical and psychological health, including autism! He will take time out of his day to educate you on your brain and why it works the way it does! He will do his absolute best to keep you informed so you can better understand yourself! (Even if at times you get tired of his lecturing) He also knows that you are very hands-on when it comes to many projects, so he will allow you to assist with simple tasks in his lab! He also knows you struggle with your health habits, aka hygiene, sleeping, eating, drinking, etc., so expect this man to be on your back! He wants to make sure you take good care of yourself <3

SPY

Spy is a bit of a tricky one. He seems completely unbothered by all of your quirks, almost to the point where you wonder if he even notices them. Rest assured, he certainly does! But he does his best not to bring attention to it unless you are the first to bring it up. He wants you to feel as though your autism doesn't define you, after all, you are more than your disability! At times he may challenge you to break from any bad or unhelpful habits, such as nail biting and pulling hair, or more serious matters like harmful stims when you get upset. Unrelated, he knows you are a person of the senses. So any gift to you is always a high-quality item: scented soaps and lovely colognes/perfumes, clothing that is soft and pleasant to touch, weighted blankets, and any type of small heavy object that may be grounding. Not to mention foods he knows you'll eat, since taste and texture can sometimes be an issue. Of course there is more, and if you don't like scented things and find soft textures on your body displeasing like some, he will accommodate for that as well! And lastly: Don't let him catch ANYONE making fun of you! They may not live to see the sun tomorrow.

SOLDIER

Honestly... He might also be autistic. No one knows for sure, but even if he was, he would loudly and proudly deny it. Loudly seems to be something the two of you do well-- you may find yourself struggling to control your volume in your excitement, but that's okay! He does too! Though he may also partly be hard of hearing from all of those rocket blasts... Regardless, the two of you seem to match each other's energy to near perfection- Yelling and screaming about nonsense, singing loud and off-key, even just making animal sounds or random noises incomparable to anything on this planet... Still he enjoys your company, neither of you really seem to be able to get a handle on social cues, but to heck with those! They're all confusing anyway! At least you understand each other! Additionally, the two of you may also struggle to remember things, especially short-term. But you're a good dynamic, always reminding each other what was forgotten! (...Just don't act surprised when he wants to recite to you the Declaration of Independence by heart for the 5th time that day.) And lastly, if you ever tell him you're autistic, surely he will tell you that you are American. And should you attempt to explain what autism is, more than likely he will assure you that you aren't (even if you clearly are-) and that you're perfect! He sees a lot of himself in you and he thinks you are the best thing since the birth of America <3

[sweetlittlegingy]

heyy!! i absolutely adore your writing and i was wondering if you could do an imagine of jake x reader. i have this obsession of going to a lumineers concert with jake and just having a fluffy time(basically just dancing around and kissing) you formally don’t have to answer this; it’s just a suggestion but i would love to see you write this. thank you sm:))

We're gonna post this because I don't wanna make you wait. Hopefully it works, or at least finds the tags at some point. Also, I didn't specify that it was the Lumineers, I wanted to be inclusive! Lots of love -G

➣ Pairing: Jake Seresin x Y/n

➣ Word Count: 1.4k

➣ Warnings: None, this is pure fluff and it's adorable. I want a Jake.

➣ N/A: I'm sorry my tags are being stupid, but it's given me time to write for when I come back!!

You reach out turning the dial nob on the stereo, your feet resting on the dash, and the wind blowing throughout the car. You gaze over at Jake, the setting sun reflects off his face, as he brings your hand to his mouth, grazing the back of your knuckles before kissing your palm. He catches your gaze and gives you a warm smile, one that you only ever get to see.

“You excited honey?” His tone, pure and light.

This was your favorite Jake, the one hidden behind a closed door, only for your eyes.

“Yeah.”

The word comes out as a hum, your hand moving to rest behind Jake. Settling at the base of his neck, your fingers rack through his hair and he’s practically humming in delight.

“Just happy that it’s you I get to make these memories with, wouldn’t want anyone else.”

You and Jake had been dating for 2 years, and you couldn’t imagine your life any differently. Now that it included him, the only future you saw had him in it.

Jake had surprised you with tickets to Y/F/B concert for your birthday last month. They were thankfully only playing an hour away from your shared apartment, and you were bursting with excitement. You mentioned loving the band on one random night, when you first got together, telling him that you hoped to see them live someday.

You’d completely forgotten about the conversation, until Jake brought it up a month ago on your birthday. You couldn’t quite believe it when he handed you the tickets, silently staring from him to the tickets, back and forth multiple times. Before throwing yourself into his arms, legs clinging around his waist, as he held you while laughing.

…

The California sunsets as Jake pulls into the venue parking lot, finding a spot not too far from the entrance. The venue, an open top concert hall, perfect for California weather and the absolute best for starry nights. You had checked the weather app earlier, and they promised clear skies and a slight breeze.

Jake was quick to clasp your hand, as you walked through the parking lot. The slight swing in your hands, made you giggle. How could this Jake, be the same one that his friend had told you about. Hangman was hard and serious and poked fun at his competition.

And in the sky, well he was the best, or so you’d been told. You’d seen his cocky demeaner when out with the guys, but it was never aimed at you.

No, the only thing Jake showed you was love and puppy dog eyes mostly, he knew it was the best way to get you to cave on something. With you, Jake was loving, funny, and always smiling. He never denied you cheesy rom com nights and was almost always the one to initiate cuddles. He remembered how you liked your tea, and never left you without getting a kiss. To say the Jacob Grant Seresin was a teddy bear, would have been an understatement.

Though the line is longer, it doesn’t take long for you two to make it through. Jake had entertained you enough while waiting, sneaky kisses placed along your neck and cheek occasionally as he held you in his arms.

“I still can’t believe that you got us floor seats!”

“Best of the best, baby.”

He gives you a wink, before pulling you along to your seats, just a few rows back from the stage. Jake lets you pick which of the two seats you want, then asks if you need anything before the show starts. You tell him no, though he scoffs at you before making his way back out to vendors.

Looking back at you and throwing out a “stay put, baby.”

Jake reappears just before the show is about to start, carrying what looks to be one of everything. As well as a few waters, the gleaming smile he gives you, has you smiling back in adornment.

“I saw these and knew you needed one, but then I couldn’t decide which.” Jake holds out three different shirts to you, two with different sets of lyrics and the other with the band’s logo. “I got one of each. Plus, you can sleep in them.”

You laugh at him and wrap your arms around his waist, his face tucking in your neck. Placing a gentle kiss on your cheek, then your lips, soft and slow.

“Sleep in just them.”

You pull away, raising your eyebrows at his cheeky antics. Though all he gives you is that award winning smirk, which has you muttering a quiet okay against his lips once again.

 …

The dimming of the lights alert you that the concert is starting, your hand grasps at Jake practically shaking with excitement. A chuckle leaves his lips, as he watches your face. The stage lights, beaming off your wide eyes, never leaving the stage. A small gasp leaves your lips, when the music starts, eye flittering back to Jake, checking to see if he’s watching.

Though his eyes remain on you, you shyly tuck your bottom lip between your lips, nose scrunching up in embarrassment.

“What?” Your tone teasing, though your blushing cheeks prove how much of a hold Jake has on you.

“You’re beautiful.” He says it so causal, like he’s talking about the weather. Yet the effect it has on you is anything but causal, leaning down to his sitting form you give him a quick kiss.

It doesn’t take long before you’re up and dancing with the crowd, pulling Jake up with you.

Jake hadn’t meant to ignore the show, but the sight of you so carefree and happy had enthralled him.

Hell, he was always watching you. He had no clue how he’d gotten so lucky; you were the light to his darkness. From the first moment he saw you walked into the Hard Deck, hair a bit frazzled and clearly frustrated, you knew you we’re it for him. He’d made his way over to your seated form at the bar, sliding up ready to lay on the charm. While you all but told him to fuck off, you’d blown a tire and though you’d changed it alone, you were in need of a drink.

He was positive that he struck out with you. Though when he closed out his tab that night, Penny with a teasing smile, handed him a napkin with your number on it. He’d called the next day, had taken you out on the next weekend, and after that the two of you were inseparable.

….

Jake had his hands holding on to your waist, while you jumped along with the beat, shouting back the lyrics to songs you knew by heart. Glancing back at him frequently, singing the lyrics to him, in which he’d sing ones he knew back to you. Most of the time it was a mumble of words before he’d place a quick kiss on your lips. Hoping you wouldn’t tease him later, about how he hadn’t been paying any attention.

As the music slows down, you lean back into Jake’s chest. His arms wrap around your waist and sway with you to the music. His face nuzzles down into your neck, placing a soft kiss before resting his chin on your shoulder. Humming along to the beat, enjoying this moment, a memory he could tell your children one day.

You turn you face slightly, hand raising to rest on his cheek, and pull him in for a kiss. The both of you moving to deepen the kiss as you turn in his arms. Wrapping your own around his neck, you pull away, foreheads resting against each other.

“I love you.” It’s mumbled and Jake barely hears it over the crowd, but he does.

He nudges your nose with his own, making you laugh. Placing a gentle peck to your nose then lips.

“I love you too.” He’s pulling you farther into his arms and turning you so that you can both enjoy the show. Placing a final kiss on the crown of your head.

“My sweet girl.”

His arms clasp gently around your chest, keeping you close to his own. Your own hands come to rest on his forearms as you sway, head tilted back enjoying the night. You sing out the music softly with the crowd, catching sight of the phone lights raising to sway with the music.

But then you’re closing your eyes,

And it’s just you and Jake.

Clinging to the hands of time, as you try to stop the clock, wishing that you could live in this moment forever.